In vitro fertilisation (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are advanced assisted reproductive technologies that have helped countless couples and individuals grow their families.
If you have been trying to conceive without success, or are a solo parent or in same-sex couple, assisted reproductive treatment may help improve your chances of pregnancy. IVF and ICSI are commonly used fertility treatments and can assist with a wide range of fertility challenges.
IVF, or in vitro fertilisation, is a fertility treatment where eggs are collected from the ovaries and fertilised with sperm in a laboratory. These eggs and sperm may be provided by you and/or your partner, or accepted from a donor. Once fertilisation occurs and embryos develop, one embryo is transferred into the uterus of the partner intending to carry the pregnancy in the hope of achieving pregnancy.
IVF may be recommended for people experiencing:
In addition to helping couples overcome infertility, IVF and ICSI are invaluable technologies that enable members of the LGBTQIA+ community and solo parents to experience parenthood through the use of donor sperm/eggs and surrogacy.
ICSI, or intracytoplasmic sperm injection, is a specialised form of IVF used to assist fertilisation. Instead of leaving sperm and eggs to fertilise on their own accord in the laboratory dish, a highly skilled embryologist will select a single sperm and inject it directly into each mature egg.
ICSI is commonly used when there are concerns about low sperm count, low sperm motility, low sperm morphology or when surgical sperm specimens are used, although it may also be recommended in other situations such as previous poor outcomes with standard IVF insemination or if preimplantation genetic testing is required. If you are having a baby with the help of a sperm or egg donor, ICSI may be the most appropriate technique after the donor eggs or sperm have been thawed.
IVF and ICSI follow similar treatment steps, with the main difference occurring during fertilisation in the laboratory.
Every fertility journey is different, and your treatment plan will be tailored to your individual circumstances. While treatment can vary slightly, IVF and ICSI generally involve several key stages.
Before making her treatment recommendations, Dr Anna will review your fertility and medical history, and any previous investigations. She may organise additional fertility tests to better understand factors affecting conception and to help guide your treatment plan.
This is also the perfect opportunity to discuss your goals, treatment expectations, and any questions or concerns you may have.
During an IVF or ICSI cycle, hormone medications are used to stimulate the ovaries of the individual providing the eggs to grow multiple eggs. This increases the number of eggs available for fertilisation and may improve the chance of creating healthy embryos.
Close monitoring will be provided throughout this stage using blood tests and ultrasound scans to assess how the ovaries respond to treatment.
Once the follicles in which the eggs develop reach a certain size, a trigger injection will be administered and then approximately 36 hours later, a minor procedure called the egg collection or egg retrieval is performed. This procedure is usually carried out under light sedation and involves collecting eggs from the ovaries using ultrasound guidance through the vagina.
Most people can return home on the same day, with symptoms of mild cramping, bloating, and fatigue resolving within the week.
In conventional IVF, eggs and sperm are combined in a special culture medium in an embryology lab to allow fertilisation to occur naturally. This requires the sperm to swim to the egg and burrow through its outer layers.
In ICSI, a single sperm is carefully injected into each mature egg to assist fertilisation by an embryologist.
The resulting embryos are monitored over 5-6 days as they develop in the laboratory. If you have chosen to undertake preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), a few cells are biopsied from the outer layers of each embryo and sent for genetic analysis. PGT is available to screen for aneuploidy, monogenic conditions, and structural rearrangements in chromosomes; Dr Anna can recommend which test will be most valuable for you.
One embryo is selected and transferred into the uterus of the partner carrying the pregnancy by performing a speculum exam, and then using a thin catheter to pass the embryo through the cervix up into the uterus. This is usually a quick procedure that does not require anaesthetic, and most people can expect to return home the same day.
Additional suitable embryos may sometimes be frozen for future use.
A blood test is performed around two weeks after embryo transfer to determine whether pregnancy has taken place.
IVF and ICSI success rates vary between individuals and are influenced by many factors, including age, egg quality, sperm health, embryo development, and underlying fertility conditions.
While IVF and ICSI can significantly improve the chance of pregnancy for many people, treatment does not guarantee success. Dr Anna believes in providing realistic, evidence-based guidance while supporting you through each stage of treatment.
