Artificial insemination/IVF

Artificial insemination, also called IVF treatment, will be used if the passage in your fallopian tubes is blocked, if the sperm count is low, if you have adhesions, or if your infertility is inexplicable. It’s the most effective form of fertility treatment. After treatment some 30-35% get pregnant  - however, the pregnancy rate depends on the woman’s age.  

Below you can read more about the treatment. 

Short protocol

The treatment described here takes place within the same menstrual cycle.
On day 1 of your cycle, you call the clinic and book an appointment for day 2 or day 3 of your cycle.
On day 2 or day 3 you’ll get the drugs to stimulate your ovaries to mature more than the one egg that normally matures in a menstrual cycle. The dose needed varies, and we’ll find the one most optimal for you.
On day 9 of your cycle you’ll have another scan. This is to measure the follicles and to see how many there are. 
When the largest of them has a diameter of 18 mm, the maturing of the eggs will be stimulated by an injection of Ovitrelle.
34 hours later the eggs must be taken out (aspiration). The eggs will be sucked out of the follicles with a thin needle guided through the vaginal wall by ultrasound. You’ll have to stay at the clinic for about 1 hour after we’ve taken out the eggs, until we have the result of the semen preparation. Once the eggs are out and the man has supplied his sperm sample, they’ll be mixed in the lab. After 1-2 days we know which eggs have been fertilised. 2-3 days after the eggs were taken out, the most suitable embryos will be put back into the womb (transferring). We transfer 1 or 2 embryos, depending on your wishes.  
14 days later you come back to the clinic for a blood test, and hopefully it shows that you’re pregnant.

For more detailed patient information, call the clinic at tel. +45 8612 6121 or e-mail us at mail@aagaardklinik.dk.

Long protocol

This treatment course takes about 7 weeks. You’ll have to come in for scans 4-6 times. 
The treatment starts on day 21 of your cycle. This is when we have to suppress the normal production of hormones in your brain. The production of eggs is then regulated by the hormones in the drugs you take.
Once the follicles have reached the right size, injections of the drug Ovitrelle will stimulate the eggs to mature.
37 hours later the eggs must be taken out (aspiration). The eggs will be sucked out of the follicles with a thin needle guided through the vaginal wall by ultrasound. You’ll have to stay at the clinic for about 1 hour after we’ve taken out the eggs, until we have the result of the semen preparation. Once the eggs are out and the man has supplied his sperm sample, they’ll be mixed in the lab. After 1-2 days we know which eggs have been fertilised. 2-3 days after the eggs were taken out, the most suitable embryos will be put back into the womb (transferring). We transfer 1 or 2 embryos, depending on your wishes.  
14 days later you come back to the clinic for a blood test, and hopefully it shows that you’re pregnant.
For more detailed patient information, call the clinic at tel. +45 8612 6121 or e-mail us at mail@aagaardklinik.dk.

Micro-insemination ICSI

The only difference between micro-insemination and ordinary IVF is the way in which the eggs are fertilised. In ordinary IVF, eggs and sperm are just mixed and the sperm cells have to find their own way into the eggs. In micro-insemination a single sperm cell is injected directly into the egg. The method is used if the man produces too few sperm cells for ordinary IVF to be successful, or if the eggs have failed to be fertilised in ordinary IVF, in spite of an apparently high quality of both eggs and sperm.  

Assisted Hatching AHA

In some women, the shell surrounding the eggs is so thick that it is difficult for it to crack open. This makes it hard for the embryo to bury itself in the lining of the womb. This is often seen in women over the age of 40. What happens in AHA is that a small area of the shell is “weakened” in the lab, to make it easier for the fertilised egg to open (hatch). This improves the chances of a pregnancy developing. This procedure is performed about 2 weeks before the embryo is put back into the womb.

TESA – collecting sperm from the testicles

In some cases it can be necessary to take sperm directly from the testicle. For instance if the man is unable to ejaculate, if he has had a vasectomy, or if his semen doesn’t contain sperm, e.g. due to a genital infection.
Sperm cells are produced in the testicles in thread-like tubes, coiled up like lots of tiny balls of yarn, filling the testicles. All these tiny tubes end in a few ducts that lead to the epididymis. This is the pencil-like ridge that runs along the backside of the testicle. The epididymis ends in the spermatic duct that then transports the semen to the urethra.
Before the TESA procedure, your scrotum is disinfected. You’ll be given a local anaesthesia with a very fine needle in your groin, just above the scrotum. This is no more uncomfortable than any other injection.
Then some tissue will be removed with a thin needle. The sample is taken to the lab where the lab technologist will cut the sample into very thin slices and look for sperm. After just a few minutes, we’ll know whether we’ve managed to extract some sperm.  
You’ll probably feel some soreness in your testicle when the anaesthesia wears off. You should take it easy for the rest of the day. Take some ordinary painkillers, Panodil or Pamol, to relieve any discomfort you feel. However, if you are in a lot of pain or experience a pronounced swelling of the scrotum, and/or fever, you must contact the clinic or a doctor. 

Freezing eggs

If there are some suitable fertilised eggs, i.e. embryos, left after we’ve transferred 1 or 2 into your womb, we can freeze them for you. This is relevant in approx. 25% of the treatments.

In the freezing/defrosting process, 25-30% of the embryos perish. The embryos will be defrosted the day before the transfer, and it’s normally not until the day of the transfer that it’s possible to assess the suitability of the embryos.

The chance of getting pregnant using frozen, defrosted embryos is about 25%. That’s why the Act allows us to transfer 3 embryos if the woman is 40 or older, and if you wish us to do so.

The method of freezing embryos has been used successfully since 1983. The Act says that: 

• The frozen embryos can only be used for your own treatment.
  
• Embryos can be frozen for a maximum of 5 years. After that, they have to be destroyed. The embryos will also be destroyed if one of the partners dies, or if the marriage or partnership is dissolved. 
  
• You must give your written consent to the freezing and storage of the embryos, and that you accept the terms and conditions on which it happens. 
  
• Embryos can only be defrosted and used if you give your written consent. 
  

Artificial insemination/IVF