The IVF Procedure & The Cost Of IVF
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a method of assisted reproduction that offers couples who are infertile a chance to have a child that is biologically related to them. More than 250,000 babies have been brought into the world using IVF and it is now recognized worldwide as an established treatment for infertility.
With IVF, a man’s sperm and the woman’s egg are combined by an IVF specialist in a laboratory dish, where fertilization occurs. The embryo which forms is then put into the woman’s uterus (womb) and left to naturally develop. Usually, 2-4 embryos are placed in the uterus at one time. Each attempt is referred to as a cycle, with the cost of each cycle being approximately ten thousands dollars.
So, what exactly is involved in each cycle? Here is a more detailed explanation…
The woman will be administered hormones to induce her ovaries to create a number (5+) eggs. A surgeon will then insert a needle into the woman’s ovary to take out the eggs. General anesthesia is not required when the surgeon does this, but the woman may be administered a mild sedative. Whilst that is taking place, a semen sample is taken from the man. He will be asked not to have sexual intercourse for half a week prior to the eggs being retrieved from the woman. The sperm are separated from the semen in a laboratory procedure.
Following this, the sperm will be mixed in the laboratory dish with the eggs. About 20 hours after this has been done, it is possible to determine if the egg or eggs have been fertilized and if embryos have grown as a result. If they have, they are incubated and observed over the next 2-7 days. After that time, the embryos will be transferred back to the woman using a catheter (a long slender tube). She is then given certain hormones for the following 10-14 days. All being well (the egg or eggs attach to the uterine wall and grow), a standard pregnancy test result will show as positive.