When you’re facing fertility issues, you want to be sure you have the best possible fertility care to help you overcome them. The experience of euroCARE IVF enables intended parents to trust that each experience and advanced techniques will provide the best possible chance of reaching a successful outcome — parenthood.
For many couples, fertility treatment is a simple matter of our expert IVF specialists determining the right medication or surgical procedure to help you achieve pregnancy. Using advanced techniques for In Vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection, and preimplantation genetic diagnosis, the euroCARE team is able to help many couples conceive.
Where do you start?
EUROCARE IVF TREATMENT — STEP BY STEP
Starting IVF treatment can be an exciting — yet we also understand it can be overwhelming. Typically, IVF treatment is pursued after other treatments have failed, following months of trying to get pregnant.
Step 1 – Contact Us
The first step is to discuss our program details with our Patient Coordinators — by either using our contact form, getting a free quote, or booking an appointment. You will be advised in detail the cost of treatment, tests required, and the details of our IVF process. Connecting with our team is an opportunity for you to ask questions, as it is very important for you to understand the treatment process entirely from beginning to end (and everything in between).
Step 2 – Required Testing
Before starting your IVF treatment, there are tests that need to be carried out in order for our team to assess your fertility levels and prescribe the correct dose of medication that you will need to take before traveling to Cyprus.
Test include:
- Hormone blood tests: FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), AMH (Anti-Müllerian Hormone), TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone), E2 (Estradiol) and Prolactin
- Blood tests to check: HIV, HBsAg, Anti-HCV
- Trans-vaginal ultrasound scan: Antral Follicle Count
- Semen Analysis for Partner
It is possible to use a combined contraceptive pill in order to regulate your cycle — giving you the ability to plan ahead for your desired treatment date.
Step 3 – Stimulation Medication
Stimulation medication is in the form of subcutaneous injections and is used to stimulate the follicles that contain the eggs and to prevent premature ovulation. Medication is prescribed and taken before your arrival at euroCARE IVF. Your pre-tests will determine the correct dose. Our IVF specialists will send you a prescription and a medication protocol clearly indicating the proper medication to take, when to take it and the options for obtaining the medication. Additional medication will be prescribed by our IVF doctor once you have arrived in Cyprus.
Step 4 – In Cyprus
Time in Cyprus: 8-day minimum including travel days
IVF with ICSI Treatment Process (though may be subject to change)
- Day 1 – First day of menstruation
- Day 2 – Stimulation injections begin
- Day 9 – Fly to Cyprus**
- Day 10/11 – Initial Scan and hCG trigger injection
- Day 13 – Egg and sperm collection
- Day 16 – 3-day embryo transfer OR
- Day 18 – 5-day embryo transfer
Note** If you wish to come to Cyprus for the full treatment you must arrive on day one of your menstrual cycle and stay for approximately 20 days.
Initial Scan
The initial scan consists of a trans-vaginal ultrasound to check the development of your follicles. If the eggs are ready, the dedicated team at euroCARE will administer an ovulation trigger injection. The injection stimulates the final maturation of eggs in the ovaries. The eggs will then be collected 34 to 36 hours after the injection is administered.
Egg & Sperm Collection
The euroCARE IVF team will advise you of your pick-up time for the day of egg collection. Once you arrive at the clinic, you will be taken to the operating room where you will be sedated for the entire procedure. Your eggs will be collected under transvaginal ultrasound guidance. A needle is inserted through the vaginal wall into the ovaries using ultrasound to locate each follicle. The follicular fluid is drawn up to obtain the eggs. Generally, the egg retrieval takes 20-30 minutes. During the eggs collection, our team will also be preparing the sperm sample from your partner (or sperm donor).
Fertilization
To ensure fertilization, our team uses the ICSI procedure. This technique involves the insemination of sperm into each egg by micro-injection. Our IVF doctor will discuss with you the amount of eggs that were collected and the sperm quality. After 24 hours, you will receive an update regarding the fertilization process and the amount of embryos.
Embryo Transfer
Our highly skilled embryologist will identify the healthy embryos on day 3 and in some cases will recommend extending embryo development to day 5 — also known as blastocyst stage. Blastocyst transfer is common in IVF cycles as it can increase the chances for success while decreasing the likelihood of multiples. Embryos are transferred to the uterus through a soft embryo transfer catheter. This painless procedure is similar to a pap smear and does not require any anesthesia.
The embryos are placed in a small amount of fluid inside the catheter, which is passed through the cervix at the time of a speculum examination and ultrasound guıdance. If you desire to use cryopreservation, the highest quality embryos that are not transferred can be frozen in liquid nitrogen, carefully labeled and stored in the embryo bank. The embryos can be used in subsequent cycles if pregnancy is not achieved on the first attempt or if you decide to have more children at a later date.
Step 5 – Pregnancy Success
Hormonal supplementation usually involves the administration of intramuscular injections of progesterone and/or a vaginal suppository (comprising estradiol valerate and micronized progesterone) until a blood pregnancy test is performed. The most accurate test for pregnancy is the beta hCG blood test — 12 days after the embryo transfer (day 1 being the day after transfer took place). hCG is human chorionic gonadotropin, also known as ‘the pregnancy hormone’.
The body begins to produce hCG when an embryo begins to implant in the uterus. Intramuscular progesterone injections are continued along with vaginal estradiol and progesterone suppositories until the 10-12th week of pregnancy. An ultrasound examination is performed approximately 2-3 weeks after the chemical diagnosis of pregnancy to visualize the pregnancy and hear the heartbeat.