IVF Methods
Egg donation
We specialize entirely on egg donation. We are here to provide black donors eggs to patients all over the world as we know how difficult it can be to find donor with dark skin. Donation of female gametes – oocytes (or eggs) can be only solution for women having severe problems with their own eggs, couples with a genetic disease, or a woman who has reached menopause or whose ovaries are not functioning properly. Egg donation means that young, healthy woman's eggs are used to produce embryos that are transferred to a recipient woman's uterus to establish a pregnancy. The recipient carries the pregnancy to term and gives birth to the baby.
PGS Preimplantation Genetic Screening
Only method which can diagnose genetic abnormalities in embryo before it is implanted into uterus. It is strongly recommended for:
- patients with recurrent miscarriages
- patients with previously failed IVF attempts
- patients from higher age group between 37 – 40 years
- all couples who want to increase chance for pregnancy and decrease chance for miscarriage
PGD Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis
Only method which can diagnose genetic diseases in embryo before it is implanted into uterus. It is the only solution for couples with serious genetic load in family who want to prevent occurrence of genetic disease in offspring. The most common genetic diseases which can be prevented are:
- sickle cell anaemia
- cystic fibrosis
- spinal muscular atrophy
- metabolic disorders
- neurofibromatosis
- genetic predisposition to cancer e.g. BRCA1 and BRCA2.
ICSI
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a method when single sperm is injected into an egg to enable fertilization. Special equipment (micromanipulator) is used for very fine manipulation of sperm and egg. We only use this method for fertilisation as we want to increase the chance for successful fertilisation of donated oocytes and to increases the chance for succesfull outcome of the whole treatment. (Is included in basic cost of the treatment).
Vitrification of embryos
We usually obtain more good quality embryos than just one or two for transfer while treating patient with donated eggs. These extra embryos can be cryopreserved and used later when pregnancy does not occur or when patient decides to come back for sibling. Vitrification is the most reliable method of cryopreservation of embryos and oocytes providing very high survival rate and good chance for pregnancy after using frozen and thawed embryos. (Is not included in basic cost of the treatment)
MACS Magnetic Activated Cell Sorting
MACS is non-invasive method which allows to select sperms with non-damaged DNA. Free radicals, smoking, increased testicular temperature, exposure to chemicals, stress, higher age or sperm developmental defects can cause high level of DNA fragmentation in sperm. If such sperm fertilizes an egg, it is likely to be succeeded by abnormal development of the embryo, or its development completely stops.
MACS method uses the fact that sperm with high level of fragmented DNA starts to naturally die. And MACS is able to remove such sperm even if the process of dying is still not visible.
Freezing of sperm
We offer possibility to freeze sperm. This can be useful especially if man can not come at the same time as woman. We also recommend freezing to patients with very bad spermiogram as prevention of loss of fertility. (Is not included in basic cost of the treatment).
Assisted hatching
The method which can help embryos to get out of the „shell“ and nidate. We can make a small hole in zona pellucida (protein layer enveloping the embryo) to help embryo to get out. We recommend using this method especially if zona pellucida is abnormally thick or when cryopreserved and thawed embryos are used for transfer. (Is not included in basic cost of the treatment)
Genetic screening of the donor
Except for standard medical tests we perform on egg donors we offer possibility to screen donors also for carrying genetic mutations. We co-operate with Natera, worldwide genetic testing and diagnostic company, which offers various possibilities of genetic testing. For recipients of eggs from African donors we recommend to use Horizon 27 screening panel, which covers all risky diseases for African ethnicity. We also offer posibility to do „genetic matching“ of donor and recipients. It means that gentic profile of our egg donor is compared with genetic profile of the „future father“ (i.e. recipient man) (Is not included in basic cost of the treatment)