What does the IVF process involve?

During an IVF procedure the woman is injected with hormones in order to produce multiple eggs during each cycle. She also receives injections of medication that ripens the developing eggs and starts the ovulation process. Ultrasound and blood tests are carried out to determine the right time for egg retrieval, which is just before the egg emerges from the follicles in the ovaries. Retrieving the eggs too early or too late will prevent them from developing normally.  Women are provided with instructions to follow the night before and the day of the procedure, and some of them are provided with pain medication. They also have a choice of full anesthesia or being mildly sedated.

During the retrieval of the eggs procedure—which varies from less than 30 minutes up to an hour—the doctor will locate follicles in the ovary with ultrasound and use a hollow needle to remove the eggs.

Right after retrieval of the eggs, they will be mixed with the partner’s sperm in the lab. The sperm must have been donated on that same day.

After this procedure, the couple goes home while the fertilized eggs remain under observation in the lab. 



In some clinics a couple might have to wait up to five days until the embryo reaches a more advanced stage of blastocyst.

The couple will return to the clinic for the transfer, once the embryos are ready. This process is faster and easier than the retrieving one. The embryos will be deposited into the uterus through a flexible tube (catheter) inserted through the vagina and cervix. It is recommended that three or four embryos are inserted at a time, to increase success rates. Then again, this could result into multiple pregnancies which may increase the risks for both mothers and babies.

The woman remains in bed for several hours after the transfer and is discharged from the clinic four to six hours later. A pregnancy test will be performed about two weeks later. When the man’s sperm count is very low, sperm is taken from semen or in some cases directly from the testicles and inserted into the egg. This procedure is called intracytoplasmic sperm injection. As in other IVF procedures, once a viable embryo is produced, the doctor transfers it to the uterus.

There are different factors that affect IVF success rates such as the age, the clinic where the procedure is performed, and the reason for infertility. National statistics for all assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures in USA are compiled by CDC, and they include IVF, GIFT, and ZIFT. However, IVF is the most common and accounts for 99% of those procedures.