How to do IVF abroad: step by step instructions
Stress, environmental pollution, a frantic pace of life lead to the fact that young, prosperous, successful women cannot get pregnant.
Russian medicine tends to look for the causes of infertility and treat it as long as the woman has enough patience. As a result, after several unsuccessful IVF procedures in public and private medical centers, many decide to go abroad in the hope that they will be helped there. Ekaterina Belyaeva, director of the British company MedEssentially, an online service for finding and organizing medical treatment abroad, tells how to properly organize a trip.
After spending a couple of years in vain attempts to conceive, women turn to public or private medical centers for fertility treatment. Treatment is usually prescribed there in order to ensure natural conception. If this fails, then referral to IVF. There are no statistics in Russia that would give reliable information about the percentage of successful procedures, but, according to expert data, it is 35 percent.
– British doctors and scientists are considered the world leaders in reproductive technologies. The success rate for IVF procedures in the UK is approaching 80.
We chose a country – we choose a clinic. You can search for a suitable one on the Internet and contact her through the official website. Another option is to contact a medical tourism company. There are even online services whose specialists will help you choose a clinic, obtain a medical visa, and even find housing.
At this stage, we begin to prepare the documents:
1. A certificate from the doctor of the receiving clinic about what medical services will be provided to you. It is usually sent by email.
2. Certificate that you really have money to pay for medical services. They calculate the money according to the unspoken formula: the cost of the service plus another thousand pounds. The certificate is issued by your bank, it differs slightly from the standard statement.
3. Proof of close ties to the homeland: the presence of real estate, for example. The host country must be sure that you do not settle in the country, living on welfare.
4. All other documents are the same as when applying for a tourist visa.
Step 3. First visit to the doctor
You can go to get acquainted with the doctor yourself or with your spouse. The specialist will tell you about all the details of the upcoming procedures in detail. If necessary, he will send the woman for examination. Usually, pelvic ultrasound, blood tests, and infectious markers are given.
During the first visit, the start day is determined, usually the fourth day of the next period. She begins to take hormonal drugs at the appointed time. The nurse explains in advance how, when and what drugs should be used.
On the fourth day of the cycle, you will have to give yourself an injection in the stomach – in this case, you will be given detailed instructions. The injection is completely painless, like an insulin injection. These drugs ensure the normal development of the follicles in the ovary. Every fourth day you need to come to the clinic for an ultrasound scan (all prescriptions depend on the specific case and may vary) so that doctors can control the rate of egg development. If they increase slowly, then they increase the dose of drugs, if quickly, then vice versa.
Here comes a delicate moment. You will be warned that two days before the fertilization of the eggs, there must be sexual intercourse with a partner. This is necessary for the sperm to be fresh on the day of fertilization, with viable sperm. Around the same time, a woman is prescribed a new drug – progesterone suppositories, so that the body prepares for a normal pregnancy.
On the appointed day, the couple comes to the medical center. A man donates sperm, a woman undergoes an egg collection procedure. This is done under general anesthesia, very quickly – within 15 minutes. They take as many eggs as they manage to grow. The number is individual, so you should not focus on any specific number, it all depends on the characteristics of the body of each woman. After anesthesia, you can immediately go home.
The next and fourth days after the collection of eggs, a call comes from the center: they tell how many eggs have fertilized and how many are ready for replanting. In Europe, it is not recommended to plant more than one embryo in a woman (two maximum, depending on the woman’s age), since there is always a risk of cell division, which can lead to multiple pregnancies. Multiple pregnancies are very dangerous for the female body, so the number of embryos to be planted is strictly regulated.
Embryo replanting takes place on the third or fifth day after fertilization. It is believed that the fifth day after fertilization is the best time, because the probability of cell engraftment is the highest. What is important: both during the collection of eggs and during the transfer, the nurses must check the patient’s identity, specify the name and surname, date of birth so that there is no mistake. The procedure is performed by a doctor under ultrasound control on a conventional gynecological chair. After that, you can lead a normal life without any restrictions and bed rest. It is believed that if the egg is able to take root, then it will take root in any situation.
A pregnancy test is done no earlier than two weeks after the implantation. Whatever the test result, it must be reported to the clinic. If the test is negative, a visit to the doctor is scheduled to discuss the results and analyze the situation. If the test is positive, then the expectant mother will have an ultrasound in the seventh week of pregnancy. The weeks are counted as in a normal pregnancy – from the first day of the last menstrual period. If the ultrasound confirms pregnancy and there are no complications, then the patient needs to find an obstetrician-gynecologist who will continue to guide her and make an appointment with him.
The average cost of an IVF procedure in England varies from £ 3 to £ 7. The price is formed depending on the choice of the clinic and the doctor, as well as the list of necessary procedures.