A detailed description of the IVF procedure as well as risks involved can be read in the informed consent document. Below are some brief descriptions along with videos of some of the procedures.
After hormonal stimulation, numerous follicles develop in the ovaries. Each contains one egg. A physician can harvest these eggs by inserting an ultrasound probe with a needle into the vagina. This way, the ovary can be visualized. The follicular fluid can be visualized as dark areas and the needle is then inserted through the vaginal wall and into the follicle. The fluid is then removed by suction and placed into a tube which is passed onto the lab personnel, who look through the fluid to see if they can find an egg. This is repeated until fluid is removed from all available follicles.
Egg Retrieval
The ultrasonic image of the ovary can be seen. The tip of the needle appears as a bright rectangle. Watch it enter a follicle. As the fluid is withdrawn, the follicle can be seen to collapse.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
In many cases the male partner’s sperm is insufficient or incapable of penetrating the egg and therefore fertilization cannot take place. To overcome this, a sperm can be picked up using a micropipette and injected directly into the egg cytoplasm. Fertilization can then take place.
Assisted Hatching
For implantation to take place, the embryo must escape from the outer membrane (zona pellucida) which surrounds it. This is call “hatching”. Sometimes the membrane appears thick or for some other reason the embryo can not escape. For this reason assisted hatching may be done to dissolve away part of the membrane with a mild acid. This is done with a micropipette designed for holding the embryo steady while the hatching pipette is used to apply the acid..
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