FAQs

Approximately 40% is of male origin, 40% of female origin and in 20 % there is no obvious identifiable cause. Many couples have combined male and female causes. The male causes result in a reduction in quality and quantity of sperms. The female causes can include one or more of the following: Endometriosis Ovulation defects including polycystic ovarian disease (PCO). Fallopian tube blockage or disease.

The Babies And Us staff will coordinate the cycles of the donor and recipient to accomplish a fresh embryo transfer whenever possible. Synchronization of cycles includes using a series of medications to facilitate a hospitable uterine environment for the transfer of embryos. During egg donation, the donor is given injections to produce many eggs. When these eggs are ripe, she is given a short anesthesia and the eggs are removed from inside the vagina without giving a cut on the abdomen. The donor can return home three to four hours’ after the procedure.

The eggs are then fertilized with the recipient’s husband’s sperms in the laboratory, either by IVF or ICSI and kept in the incubator for two days. Incase the recipient’s husband’s sperm is of poor quality; the eggs can be fertilized by the technique of Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI). Two days later, a four-celled embryo is formed. Three days later, a eight-celled embryo is formed or five days later a multi-celled Blastocyst is formed. This embryo (small baby) is then transferred back to the womb either at the four cell, eight cell or the Blastocyst stage. 30 to 40% of such women will become pregnant. Incase they fail to become pregnant they can have a repeat egg donation cycle. Many women undergo two to four cycles and achieve their goal of a child.

A.In this day and age more and more career oriented women are getting married late in life. By the time they start planning to have children, they are nearing the fourth decade of their life (40 years). Fortunately, at this age, many women can conceive naturally. However nearly 10 to 15% women fail to conceive within a year’s time. These women who are more than 37-40 years of age then resort to treatment of infertility by their gynecologist. If they still do not become pregnant they take help of newer technologies like IVF – In Vitro Fertilization (test-tube baby) or ICSI – Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection. Women after the age of 40 tend to have fewer eggs in their ovaries or the quality of the eggs they produce may be poor. Thus, even new technologies like IVF and ICSI may not ensure a successful pregnancy. Furthermore, after the age of 40 to 42, many women stop producing eggs as they enter the stage of Perimenopause (decreased periods) or menopause (stoppage of periods).

Till now, such women could only have a baby through the wonderful route of adoption. However, in the last ten years, a new technique of egg donation has come as a blessing to many such women. B.In India, preference is given to younger couples to adopt children. Couples over the age of 45 can adopt, but find it difficult to do so, because of Governmental preference for younger parents. Such couples can tremendously benefit by egg donation. C.Egg donation can also be perfomed on women who have had multiple cycles of test-tube baby (IVF or ICSI) and have still failed to conceive and become pregnant. D.Besides elderly or menopausal women, egg donation can be done in younger women whose ovaries have prematurely failed or in young women who have undergone radiation or chemotherapy for cancer. Radiation or chemotherapy destroys the eggs and hence these women have a failure of their ovaries. E. Egg donation is also used in patients who are carrying major chromosomal defects so that they do not pass the genetic defect to their children. F. Patients suffering from severe Tuberculosis and severe Endometriosis may also produce poor quality eggs and hence can be treated by egg donation.

In egg donation, eggs are borrowed from a young woman (less than 33 yrs of age) called the donor, with her consent. These eggs are then fertilized with the sperms of the husband of the recipient woman and the resultant embryo (the earliest form of the baby), is inserted into the womb of the recipient. The success rate of this procedure is in the region of 30 to 40%. In fact, many women till the age of 50-55 have become pregnant by this technique. You will be surprised that the oldest woman pregnant by this procedure is 69 year old, residing in Italy. At Babies And Us, the oldest women who has conceived with this technique is 62 years of age. This is probably the oldest woman to have become pregnant, in India.

The success rates for ICSI are higher than if you use conventional IVF methods. A lot depends on your particular fertility problem and your age. The younger you are, the healthier your eggs usually are, and the higher your chances of success.

One cycle of ICSI takes between four weeks and six weeks to complete. You and your partner can expect to spend a full day at the clinic for the egg and sperm retrieval procedures. You’ll go back anywhere between two days and six days later for the embryo transfer procedure.

In general, any woman with a medical or genetic indication for using an egg donor can be a recipient, if there are no medical contraindications to pregnancy. Our current age limit is 55 years. The decision to utilize donor eggs is made in association with staff and consultants. If a male factor exists, donor egg with ICSI is also available. Generally a psychiatrist and a physician would assess a recipient. This is done to gauge the mental and physical fitness of the patient. This analysis is very important to withstand the pressures of childbirth.

s with standard IVF treatment, you will be given fertility drugs to stimulate your ovaries to develop several mature eggs for fertilisation. When your eggs are ready for collection, you and your partner will undergo separate procedures. Your partner may produce a sperm sample himself by ejaculating into a cup on the same day as your eggs are collected. If there is no sperm in his semen, doctors can extract sperm from him under local anaesthetic. Your doctor will use a fine needle to take the sperm from your partner’s: If these techniques don’t remove enough sperm, your doctor will try another tactic. He’ll take a biopsy of testicular tissue, which sometimes has sperm attached.

This is called testicular sperm extraction (TESE) or micro-TESE, if the surgery is carried out with a microscope. TESE is sometimes carried out before the treatment cycle begins, and under local anaesthetic. The retrieved sperm are frozen. Any discomfort felt by your partner should be mild and can be treated with painkillers. After giving you a local anaesthetic, the doctor will remove your eggs using a fine, hollow needle. An ultrasound helps the doctor to locate the eggs. The embryologist then isolates individual sperm in the lab and injects them into your individual eggs. Two days later the fertilised eggs become balls of cells called embryos. The procedure then follows the same steps as in IVF.

The doctor transplants one or two embryos into your uterus and through your cervix using a thin catheter. If you are under 40 you can have one or two embryos transferred. If you are 40 or over you can have a maximum of three embryos transferred if using your own eggs, or two if you’re using donor eggs. Extra embryos, if there are any, may be frozen in case this cycle isn’t successful. Embryos may be transferred two to three days after fertilisation, or five days after fertilisation. Five days after fertilisation the embryo will be at the blastocyst stage. If you’re just having one embryo transferred (called elective single embryo transfer, or eSET), having a blastocyst transfer can improve your chances of a successful, healthy, single baby.

ICSI isn’t the solution to every male fertility problem. If your partner has a low sperm count as a result of a genetic problem, this could be passed on to any sons you have together. Your doctor will usually recommended that your partner has a blood test before you start the ICSI cycle. You and your partner should be offered counselling before and after taking the test to help you through both the decision and the process. You can find a counsellor specialising in fertility issues and treatments through the British Infertility Counselling Association.

Once ovulation has occurred it is impossible to retrieve the eggs. The entire team of physician, nurse and embryologist will monitor your cycle very carefully to avoid premature ovulation.

Pregnancy can be confirmed using blood tests about 13 days after egg aspiration. Pregnancy can be confirmed by ultrasound 30 to 40 days after aspiration.

Most definitely. We recommend that the husband refrain from ejaculation for at least 48 hours, but for no more than 5 to 6 days preceding egg retrieval. This precaution assures that the semen sample obtained for IVF will contain a maximum number of healthy, motile sperm.

This depends on the individual. The primary reason for delay is to allow the patient’s normal menstrual cycle to resume, which may take 2 to 3 cycles.

Not ordinarily. The surgeon must be able to see the follicles in order to guide the needle to the proper spot for retrieval of the eggs whether by sonographic (ultrasound) or surgical methods.

During ICSI the sperm doesn’t have to travel to the egg or penetrate the outer layers of the egg. This means that it can help couples where the man’s sperm: can’t get to the egg at all can get to the egg, but for some reason can’t fertilise it ICSI is likely to be recommended if your partner has: A very low or zero sperm count. A high percentage of abnormally shaped sperm. This can result in poor motility, which means the sperm can’t swim well.

Sperm that can’t be ejaculated but can be collected from the testicles or from the duct where sperm is stored (epididymis). This may be needed if your partner has had an irreversible vasectomy or injury. Problems with getting an erection and ejaculating, due to spinal cord injuries or diabetes, for example. If you have tried IVF you may move on to ICSI if not enough eggs could be retrieved, or if eggs retrieved for IVF were not successfully fertilised.