IVF-ICSI

Infertility is a medical condition defined as the inability to conceive after one year of regular, unprotected intercourse (or six months if the woman is over 35). It affects millions of couples worldwide, and can result from a variety of factors in either partner. Female infertility may arise from issues like irregular ovulation, blocked fallopian tubes, or age-related decline in egg quality. Male infertility often stems from low sperm count, poor sperm motility, or abnormal sperm shape.

Infertility can refer to never being able to have a child, as well as the inability to conceive again after already having one or more children, despite trying for over a year. The inability to have a child is referred to as primary infertility, while the inability to conceive again after previously having children is called secondary infertility. The causes of both types can be the same or different.

In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a type of assisted reproductive technology (ART) designed to help couples overcome infertility and achieve pregnancy. During IVF, eggs are retrieved from the ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are then monitored for development, and one or more are transferred into the woman’s uterus to hopefully result in pregnancy.

Here are the most common indicators when considering IVF:

The main difference between IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) and ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) lies in how the egg is fertilized. In standard IVF, eggs and sperm are combined in a laboratory dish, allowing the sperm to naturally fertilize the egg. This method relies on the sperm’s ability to swim to and penetrate the egg. IVF is typically used when there are no significant male fertility issues.

In ICSI, a single sperm is directly injected into the egg using a fine needle. This technique is used when there are male fertility problems, such as low sperm count, poor motility, or abnormal sperm shape, as it bypasses the need for the sperm to penetrate the egg on its own. At Cyprus IVF Hospital, we use the ICSI method for fertilization to maximize the chances of success, especially in cases where sperm quality may be a concern.

For most healthy couples under 35, about 85% will conceive within one year of trying. If pregnancy hasn’t occurred after one year, it’s time to seek medical advice. Women over 35 are encouraged to see a fertility specialist after six months, as fertility naturally declines with age. Early consultation can help you explore treatment options like IVF sooner, increasing your chances of success.

A woman’s ability to conceive with her own eggs decreases significantly with age, especially after 40. This decline in fertility is largely due to the natural reduction in egg quality. While many clinics recommend attempting IVF with your own eggs until around the age of 43-44, the success rates tend to drop sharply beyond this point. This is because the risk of chromosomal abnormalities, such as aneuploidy, increases as women age.

As women are born with all the eggs they will ever have, those eggs age alongside them. Over time, the likelihood of chromosomal errors during cell division increases, leading to an egg with too many or too few chromosomes. This condition, called aneuploidy, results in embryos with a higher risk of miscarriage or failure to implant. Studies show that for women aged 35-39, approximately 40-50% of embryos are chromosomally abnormal. For women over 40, more than 50% of embryos are abnormal.

Most embryos with chromosomal abnormalities either fail to implant or result in miscarriage, which is why pregnancy success rates decline significantly after the age of 40. Preimplantation genetic testing for aneuploidy (PGT-A) can help improve the chances of a successful pregnancy by identifying and selecting chromosomally normal embryos for transfer. This approach aims to reduce pregnancy loss and improve outcomes for older women undergoing IVF.

Unlike women, men don’t experience a sharp decline in fertility with age, but sperm quality does diminish over time. While men can technically father children into their 60s or even later, factors such as sperm motility, concentration, and DNA fragmentation may impact the success of IVF. In general, men under 50 have a higher chance of success in IVF, but even older men can still conceive with the help of fertility treatments.

Your IVF journey begins with a consultation with one of our fertility experts, where we’ll discuss and assess your fertility status by reviewing your and your partner’s most recent blood tests and health reports and creating a customized plan for you.

Our embryologists fertilize the collected eggs using your partner’s sperm through the ICSI method, where a selected sperm is directly injected into the egg. After fertilization, the embryos are held in a special culture medium in the lab for five to six days to allow them time to mature and reach the blastocyst stage, which is optimal for implantation.

The highest-quality embryos are selected and transferred into the uterus at the end of the laboratory process. The number of embryos to be transferred is decided by our doctor with you, considering your age, general health, previous unsuccessful IVF attempts and the quality of the embryos. (If more than one embryo is transferred, the possibility of multiple pregnancies increases.) Based on the regulation in North Cyprus, we are allowed to transfer a maximum of three embryos at one transfer.

After one or two healthy embryos are transferred into the uterus, the remaining embryos are frozen for future use on the same day of embryo transfer.

In this way, your IVF cycle is completed. You will perform a pregnancy blood test after 12 days after the embryo transfer date and let us know the result.