Fertility treatment as individual as you are

In IVF, mature eggs are retrieved from the woman following hormonal stimulation and brought together with about 50,000 processed sperm from the partner. Fertilisation of the eggs takes place outside the body, but of its own accord. If fertilisation is successful, then usually an embryo (two in some cases) is transferred to the uterus after 2–5 days. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a form of so-called assisted fertilisation.

If the chances of success of IVF are low because the number of suitable sperm is too low, the eggs obtained following hormonal stimulation can be fertilised in the laboratory by means of microinjection using one sperm cell each. The resulting embryos are transferred to the uterus, just like in IVF.

Hormonal disorders can occur in both men and women, but hormone therapy is usually offered to women. The goal is to promote egg maturation and induce ovulation. This hormonal treatment can increase the likelihood of successful fertilisation and is performed in our clinics.

Thinking ahead gives more family planning options. The freezing of eggs increases a woman's chances of having children later in life and in cases where she suffers cancer. The cryopreservation of sperm has already been practised successfully for over 50 years. The fragile egg, however, has delicate inner structures and a cytoskeleton that is very vulnerable to the formation of ice crystals. Research has now managed to open another door in reproductive medicine by successfully freezing and thawing eggs.

Egg cell donation is legal in Austria as of 2015 and is offered in the fertility clinics of TFP! The new reproductive medicine act states that the recipient of the donor egg cell may not be older than 45 years old at the start of treatment. You can of course also bring your own donor with you (your sister, niece, friend, …). Please note that the donor must be between 18 and 30 years old, must be completely healthy, and must undergo a critical social anamnesis by the doctors of TFP fertility clinics.

During in vitro fertilisation (IVF), fertilisation of the egg and the first days of maturation take place outside the woman's body. With the help of small incubators, we imitate the environment in which eggs develop during a usual pregnancy.

Polar Body Diagnostics is an investigation into the genetic material of the female egg cells. In particular this helps women who suffer from recurrent miscarriages very early on in the pregnancy for no definite reason. Similar to the Pre-implantation Diagnostics (PID), the Polar Body Diagnostics can identify (with high probability) problems with chromosomes and highlight specific hereditary diseases. This way the "best quality" eggs are detected and embryos with higher nidation chances are generated from these eggs.

In some cases endometriosis, fibroids (myomas), blocked fallopian tubes or abnormalities of the uterine cavity lead to infertility. Surgical treatment can improve the chances of getting pregnant. Usually minimal invasive laparoscopic tecniques like pelviscopy but also hysteroscopy are used. The decision for surgical treatment as an option is taken during the initial consultation.

The implantation of the embryo into the uterus of the mother is a very complex process. In order to avoid rejection of the embryo, an immune tolerance against the embryo must develop. The seminal plasma (ejaculate without sperm), which is mainly made up of the secretion from the seminal vesicale and 25% secretion from the prostate gland, appears to have an active role to play in this process.

The eggs - as well as the embryo - are surrounded and protected by a shell called the zona pellucida. Shortly before the embryo nests in the womb, this shell opens with the help of special enzymes and with the pressure of the embryo's growth - and the embryo "hatches".