IVF / ICSI

IVF at ISCARE clinic

The Czech Republic’s legislation allows both homologous and heterologous fertilization-IVF, ovum donation, sperm donation as well as embryo donation. According to Czech legislation, women are allowed to undergo these fertility treatments up to the age limit of 48 years. This means that starting from 49 years of age onwards, it is no longer possible to receive artificial insemination treatments.

Artificial fertilization in the Czech Republic, namely IVF, is a treatment based on the collection of the oocytes from the mother’s body, which are then fertilized and successively implanted into the womb. In Vitro Fertilization is used in the treatment of primary and secondary sterility (infertility).

At our Clinic we offer you the possibility of freezing (eggs, sperm embryos), as well as choosing the number of embryos to be transferred, having exclusive donators, etc.

Should you need to be hospitalized, you may do so in our Clinic. There is consequently no need to go looking for a hospital in a foreign country.

GENERAL INFORMATION

The complete treatment offered by our clinic normally foresees a total of four appointments (consultation, stimulation of follicular development, egg retrieval, and transfer of the embryos). Alternatively, the study of follicular development may also be carried out by a physician in your own city and therefore only 3 appointments at our clinic would then be required.

The most common causes of infertility in women are as follows:

  • Hormonal imbalance – the oocytes either fail to mature or are not released, the development of the womb lining is abnormal and the implantion of the embryos is impeded.
  • Obstruction of the tubes can be caused by inflammation, previous surgery, endometriosis, or congenital malformations - The passage of the oocyte through the fallopian tubes is compromised or impossible.
  • Cervical mucus is insufficient, or hostile to sperm that cannot penetrate the membrane of the ovum
  • Thyroid disorders, hyperprolactinaemia etc

The most common causes of infertility in men are:

  • Disruption of spermatogenesis
  • Reduction of sperm motility
  • Sperm transport disturbances
  • Diseases that affect the whole body (diabetes, thyroid diseases, etc.).
  • Sexual dysfunction (caused by a paralysis, etc.)
DONORS

Donors remain absolutely anonymous in the Czech Republic.

Our Clinic relies on its own sperm bank. Unlike ovum donations, which foresee the fertilization of the ova on the same day as their retrieval, the screened frozen sperm in our bank are used for fertilizing oocytes. Consequently, there is no waiting time for finding a sperm donor.

Our donors must visit us and undergo several consultations with our physicians. They must then also pass a battery of exams in order to be entered into our registry. Because of this, our screening is very accurate and quite thorough. All of our donors are subjected to the selection criteria provided for by Czech legislation. All of our donors are at the very minimum, high school graduates and must undergo specific medical examinations.

Our sperm donors are young men between 18-39 years of age.

Our strength lies in our ability to find donors who have phenotypes corresponding to those of the recipients (blood type, hair colour and eye colour, height, weight, skin type). Pleasing our patients is an important part of our job, therefore we take their wishes into account as far as donors are concerned, while not forgetting our purpose - the birth of a healthy baby.

PRICE

The cost of all of our treatments can be found on our price list.

BEFORE COMING TO THE CLINIC

All of our patients are asked to provide us with a recent PAP smear test and hormonal profile blood tests (FSH, LH, PRL, E2, progesterone, fT3, fT4, TSH) before the first interview, so that the results will be available for the individual consultation with our physician. The blood tests/exams of hormonal values should be performed between the 2nd and the 4th day of the menstrual cycle, i.e. at the beginning of a woman’s period. The results should be no older than 6 months old. Patients may send their results by email or fax so that the physician will have these results before the first interview.

Semen-seminal fluid analysis is the most important test for the male half of a couple. This is done in order to assess the quality of the sperm as well as to indicate the most efficient laboratory method. Semen collection can also be performed in our clinic. When collecting a semen specimen for analysis, sexual abstinence should be practiced for at least 2-4 days. In addition to the semen analysis, this sample shall also be stored in order to be used for treatment in the future should it be needed (illness, accident, etc.).

CONSULTATION

The consultation with the physician will normally last approximately one hour, during which you will be free to ask the physician any questions you may have. During this consultation the physician will study your results. The physician might order further analyses and controls to be carried out. He will assess/state the diagnosis and the couple will be informed about possible treatment options and the various laboratory procedures that will follow.

Immediately following the consultation, we will provide you with any and all medications you might require as well as instructions on how to use them, should you decide to proceed with the treatment.

While many oocytes are developed in a woman’s ovaries during her natural menstrual cycle, only one single oocyte matures and is released. The development, maturation and release from the ovaries (ovulation) are controlled by pituitary hormones. In order to increase the success rate of the treatment, a hormonal stimulation, carefully monitored by a physician, is carried out, so that several oocytes are developed and mature fully.

STIMULATION

The result of the consultation will allow us to prepare the correct plan of stimulation that will be best suited for the patient and assure us of achieving the desired results – the complete development and maturation of numerous oocytes. Our physician will formulate the therapeutic plan and the patient (following the first consultation) will be provided with all the necessary medications needed for the commencement of the treatment.

An ultrasound examination of the ovaries must be performed during the stimulation. This examination will assess follicular development, that is to say the number and sizes of the follicles in which the eggs mature. An ultrasound examination of the endometrium (in order to measure mucus thickness) is also necessary. The patient may choose to have these ultrasound examinations done by her own gynaecologist. However, we strongly recommend to our patients to come for the ultrasound control in our clinic, because the retrieval of oocytes should coincide with their full maturation and usually happens within a few days after the ultrasound check.

The pharmacological stimulation of the ovaries can be carried out by means of subcutaneous injections, administered underneath the skin. These injections may be administered in the patient´s own home by a physician, gynaecologist, the patient herself or her partner/husband.

Injection application videos

The videos on the link below are in English and offer tutorials for subcutaneous injection application of all stimulation drugs used by our clinic.

You can watch all the videos here.

In case of any further question, please use our contact form.

OOCYTE RETRIEVAL

When the ovarian follicles have reached a certain degree of development, the induction of oocyte maturation is performed and the oocytes are retrieved (OPU - Ovum pick up).

On the same day, the retrieved oocytes are fertilized with husband´s or partner´s sperm. Either fresh sperm or frozen sperm from the previous consultation in our clinic may be used for fertilization. Before delivering sperm, sexual abstinence should be practiced for at least 2-4 days.

ICSI

ICSI (Intracytoplasmic sperm injection) is an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg using a fine micropipette. This procedure is most commonly used to overcome problems related to poor sperm quality and infertility.

The suitable sperm are selected (based on their appearance and motility) and then injected into an ovum. With the help of ICSI, it is possible to fertilize numerous oocytes. Alternatively, we resort to the PICSI method, with which the sperms are subjected to a test measuring their overall functioning aspects and their ability to fertilize the egg successfully.

EMBRYO TRANSFER

Three days after the eggs are fertilized (or up to 5 days for a prolonged cultivation), the best quality embryos that have reached an appropriate stage of development, are selected to be transferred to your womb.

We usually transfer two embryos. You can talk with your doctor and embryologist about the number of embryos that you are willing to have placed. A larger number of embryos increases the percentage of success, but it also increases the risks for both the mother and for the foetuses. We do our best to eliminate these risks and consequently make the decision with each couple individually.

One hour after the transfer of the embryo, you will be able to leave our clinic and travel.

Pregnancy should be confirmed via pregnancy test 14 days after the embryo transfer – urine tests are widely vailable at pharmacies, better yet are blood tests measuring the levels of hCG (the Beta hCG).

SUCCESS RATE

Our clinic relies on its own specialized laboratory. This has proved to be an essential prerequisite for the ISCARE Clinic’s long-term success. Thanks to our laboratory’s and our physicians’ knowledge and experience, the success rate for becoming pregnant stands at 48-50%.

We have been able to obtain such results while at the same time we are successfully managing to reduce the number of multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancy is a complication when it comes to In Vitro Fertilization, as it involves increased health risks for both the mother and the foetuses.

Over time, our artificial insemination success rate has grown while at the same time we have managed to reduce the number of multiple pregnancies to a minimum.

By using the most advanced laboratory methods, we have been able to significantly increase the success rate of IVF treatments.

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