2. How do fertility clinics match the donor to the male partner?: Couples can choose to receive donor sperm from someone they know, such as a friend or family member, or they can receive donor sperm from an anonymous donor, in which case the fertility care center would match the physical characteristics (ethnicity, height, build, skin type, eye color, hair color and texture) of the donor to the husband of the woman receiving the treatment. The fertility care clinics that we are partners with typically seek male university students who already have families and who are willing to donate their sperm free of charge to sperm banks, where their sperm will be frozen and cryopreserved. During the sperm donor selection process, potential sperm donors are screened for infectious diseases, mental disorders, genetic medical conditions, and sexually transmitted diseases that could be transmitted to the newborn.

3. What fertility drugs are taken?: Once the sperm donor and the recipient mother pass all the necessary screenings, the recipient mother will be put on fertility drugs to prepare her eggs for harvesting, during which time her blood hormone levels and endometrium (the lining of the uterus) will be monitored.

4. How are eggs collected?: When the recipient mother’s eggs are ready for harvesting, her eggs can be retrieved. Eggs are usually retrieved by the guidance of an ultrasound, which usually takes about 30 minutes. The doctor will insert a thin needle through the vagina into each ovary. The eggs will then be drawn into the needle. More often than not, eggs are collected by laparoscopy (a small telescope with a light attached). This procedure involves making a small incision in the stomach and extracting the eggs with a fine needle, as before.

5. How is sperm collected?: If sperm bank donor sperm is being used, then the selected sperm will have been thawed and prepared that same morning. Some clinics may only use freshly donated sperm, in which case the sperm would be donated the same day as the egg retrieval.

What is the fertilization process?: Most fertility clinics use ICSI to fertilize eggs and increase the chance of success. In ICSI, sperm is injected into the cytoplasm of the egg.  A thin, hollow needle is pierced through the cell membrane, and is loaded with a single sperm. The benefit of using ICSI for in vitro fertilization is only one sperm is needed. 

7. When are embryos transferred into the uterus?: Embryo transfer can occur 1-5 days after fertilization occurs, depending on factors that the couple will discuss with the embryologist, such as low sperm count and embryo development. Same day embryo transfer, in which the embryos are transferred about 4 hours after fertilization, is becoming more common, since it allows recipients to undergo the procedure on an outpatient basis. Embryologists recommend that the recipient wait until day five to transfer the embryo, which is known as the blastocyst stage. The blastocyst transfer has also become quite common as it increases chances of successful implantation and decreases the likelihood of multiple pregnancies.

8. IWhat is the insemination process?: This process is the last stage of the IVF procedure. It is usually painless and does not require any anesthesia. Healthy embryos are transferred into the uterus through the cervix with a catheter. Typically 2-4 embryos are transferred into the uterus to increase the chances of pregnancy. If done successfully, the patient can go home and should rest for the remainder of the day. A pregnancy test will be given 12-15 days after the embryo transfer. If the IVF is successful, a normal pregnancy can be carried out.

*Note: It is often the case in IVF with egg donation that more embryos are produced than can be used in one cycle. When this happens, those embryos can be frozen and preserved for future use.