Silvia Azaña, an embryologist at inviTRA, explains in this video the entire process of IVF with donor sperm:
IVF is an assisted reproduction technique that consists of joining the gametes (egg and sperm) in the laboratory. Therefore, fertilization does not occur inside the woman's body.
This technique requires stimulating the ovaries with hormonal medication, which is known as ovarian stimulation. Normally, this step of the IVF process begins on the third day of the menstrual cycle and lasts about 10 days.
It's done to obtain a larger number of eggs than in a menstrual cycle without stimulation. During this phase, various blood tests and ultrasound scans are carried out.
When the developing ovarian follicles reach the desired size, their final maturation is stimulated and the follicular puncture is performed.
Follicular puncture is a simple surgical procedure performed under ultrasound guidance. Its purpose is to aspirate the fluid from the ovarian follicles through a needle inserted vaginally.
This procedure is performed in an operating room and the patient is sedated so she doesn't feel any pain. Afterward, the aspirated follicular fluid is analyzed in the laboratory to obtain the eggs.
On the other hand, in IVF with donor sperm, the semen comes from a donor bank. All donor semen samples are frozen after collection for a minimum of six months.
Therefore, once the most suitable donor is chosen, the sample is thawed and processed or capacitated in the lab.
Next, fertilization of the egg can be conventional IVF or ICSI.
Since the semen sample comes from a donor and is of good quality, it would be possible to perform conventional IVF. However, nowadays the use of ICSI is very common and is replacing conventional IVF. ICSI is intracytoplasmic sperm injection. In this case, the best sperm, selected for its motility and morphology, is introduced directly into the egg with the help of a micro-injector.
After fertilization of the eggs is complete, the zygote will begin its embryonic development while remaining in culture inside an incubator in the lab. During this period, the embryologist will observe and monitor its development and evolution until the day of transfer to the future mother's uterus.
The transfer consists of placing the embryo in the uterus using a thin catheter with the aim of implantation and thus achieving pregnancy. This process doesn't cause pain or require anesthesia.
Embryo transfer can be performed on day three or on day five or six (the blastocyst stage of embryonic development), depending on the situation and the way each laboratory works. However, it's becoming more common to opt for transfer at the blastocyst stage.
On the other hand, it's standard to transfer a single embryo or a maximum of two embryos to avoid the risks of a multiple pregnancy, which would be dangerous for both the mother and the fetuses.
The remaining untransferred embryos are cryopreserved through vitrification (frozen). This way, they could be used later for future attempts.
Finally, to confirm if the woman has become pregnant after IVF treatment with donor sperm, a pregnancy test is performed about 12 to 15 days after the embryo transfer.
It's important not to take the pregnancy test before the indicated date, as it could give an erroneous result.
