Our lab has state-of-the-art IVF lab services & equipment that allows us to provide you with the ability to have the most advanced fertility treatments.
In vitro fertilization requires stimulation of the female partner with medication that causes multiple eggs to develop in one month (generally, one egg develops each month without these medications). The eggs are removed from the body and fertilized in the laboratory. The resulting embryos are grown and the best embryo(s) are transferred back to the uterus.
Our Advanced IVF Lab Services Include:
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): If there is significant male factor infertility, Dr. James may recommend that ICSI be performed as a part of your IVF procedure. With conventional IVF, sperm and egg are placed in a dish overnight where fertilization takes place. Based on testing of the sperm, ICSI may be recommended instead. In this procedure, a single sperm is injected into the egg to cause fertilization. Reasons may be a low count or the presence of anti-sperm antibodies.
Assisted hatching: A human egg has a shell called a zona pellucida. The sperm penetrates this shell to cause fertilization. The embryo grows in the egg for 5-6 days. Then, the embryo must hatch in order to implant in the uterus. Assisted hatching involves opening a hole in the shell with a laser to help hatching take place and increase the chance of implantation.
Oocyte (egg) vitrification: With most IVF cycles, all mature eggs that are removed are fertilized. The best embryos are selected for immediate transfer, and any other quality embryos are frozen (or vitrified) for future use. Sometimes we vitrify eggs instead. This can be done for fertility preservation. For example, a woman may be facing chemotherapy which, in some instances, can severely reduce the number of eggs left in the ovary after treatment. She may want eggs frozen before chemotherapy to use for fertilization and pregnancy at some point in the future. Oocyte freezing can also be done for fertility preservation. At some point in her life, a woman may choose to have eggs frozen due to the decrease in number and quality of eggs with age. This procedure will “preserve” her egg quality so that the chance for pregnancy will be higher when she decides to warm and utilized those frozen eggs.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD): At TFC, we recommend that all patients have genetic screening before starting fertility treatment. There are some genetic diseases that are carried by many individuals even if there is no history of the disease in the family. A carrier has one abnormal copy of a gene and one normal copy of a gene, so they do not show signs of the disease. If both members of a couple are carriers, there is a chance that a baby will have the disease. Screening (a simple blood test) can be performed to determine if you are a carrier of the more common recessive genetic diseases. If you and you partner are both carriers, you will have genetic counseling so that you understand the disease and the chances of a baby having the disease. Then, we will discuss whether PGD is right for you. PGD requires IVF and biopsy of each embryo to determine which embryos are normal, which are carriers, and which have the disease. Embryos with the disease will not be transferred into the uterus.
Preimplantation Genetic Screening: It is also possible to have testing of the embryos performed that will screen them for chromosomal errors (aneuploidy). These errors become more common as a woman ages. PGS does not identify specific gene defects. Only normal embryos will be transferred into the uterus.