In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a method of assisted reproduction that offers infertile couples an opportunity to have a baby who is biologically related to them. More than 250,000 babies have been born using the IVF procedure and it is now a fully established treatment for infertility.
With IVF, a woman's egg and a man's sperm are brought together by an IVF specialist in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryo is then put into the uterus (womb) of the woman to develop naturally. Each attempt is called a cycle, with the cost of each cycle being approximately $12,000.
Here are some more details of what exactly is involved in each cycle...
The woman will be administered hormones in order to induce her ovaries to create a number (5+) eggs. A surgeon then inserts a needle into the woman's ovary to take out the eggs. General anesthesia is not necessary for this part of the procedure, though the woman may be administered some sedating medication. Whilst that is taking place, a semen sample is taken from the man. A laboratory procedure then takes places to separate the sperm from the semen.
Following this, the sperm are combined in the laboratory dish with the eggs taken from the woman. Around 20 hours after this fertilization procedure, it is possible to find out if the egg or eggs have been fertilized and if embryos have grown as a result. Should this have happened, they are incubated and observed over the next 2-7 days. The doctor then transfers the embryos into the woman's uterus through the cervix with a catheter (a long slender tube). The woman is then given a course of hormones to take for the next 2 weeks.
The success rate of the IVF procedure is 36% for women younger than 35 years, 27% for those between 36-39 years and 13% in those who are 40+ years. Therefore, the final cost of IVF is generally over $20,000, as a minority of couples succeed at their first attempt.
Finally, research has proved that children born as a result of the IVF procedure are as healthy as those born in the natural way. The only major complication comes in the increased risk of multiple births happening, with the probablity of giving birth to twins or triplets being noticeably higher. - 33375
With IVF, a woman's egg and a man's sperm are brought together by an IVF specialist in a laboratory dish. The resulting embryo is then put into the uterus (womb) of the woman to develop naturally. Each attempt is called a cycle, with the cost of each cycle being approximately $12,000.
Here are some more details of what exactly is involved in each cycle...
The woman will be administered hormones in order to induce her ovaries to create a number (5+) eggs. A surgeon then inserts a needle into the woman's ovary to take out the eggs. General anesthesia is not necessary for this part of the procedure, though the woman may be administered some sedating medication. Whilst that is taking place, a semen sample is taken from the man. A laboratory procedure then takes places to separate the sperm from the semen.
Following this, the sperm are combined in the laboratory dish with the eggs taken from the woman. Around 20 hours after this fertilization procedure, it is possible to find out if the egg or eggs have been fertilized and if embryos have grown as a result. Should this have happened, they are incubated and observed over the next 2-7 days. The doctor then transfers the embryos into the woman's uterus through the cervix with a catheter (a long slender tube). The woman is then given a course of hormones to take for the next 2 weeks.
The success rate of the IVF procedure is 36% for women younger than 35 years, 27% for those between 36-39 years and 13% in those who are 40+ years. Therefore, the final cost of IVF is generally over $20,000, as a minority of couples succeed at their first attempt.
Finally, research has proved that children born as a result of the IVF procedure are as healthy as those born in the natural way. The only major complication comes in the increased risk of multiple births happening, with the probablity of giving birth to twins or triplets being noticeably higher. - 33375
