The 1978 birth of Louise Brown, conceived through in vitro fertilization (IVF), was a huge breakthrough in infertility treatment. In vitro fertilization technology has fundamentally changed the treatment options for infertile couples and led to the emergence of various assisted reproductive technologies (ART). In just 20 years, in vitro fertilization has become the cornerstone of reproductive medicine, and today IVF clinics use technologies on a daily basis that a generation ago seemed like something out of the realm of science fiction. With the help of in vitro fertilization, many infertile couples who unsuccessfully tried to be treated with other methods had healthy children.

To date, more than four million IVF babies have been born in the world.

1. The examination of a married couple before the IVF procedure is carried out in accordance with existing standards.

2. Stimulation of ovarian superovulation (stimulation of the maturation of several eggs in the ovarian follicles). For this purpose, from the 2-3 day of the menstrual (therapeutic) cycle, a woman receives injections of special drugs containing gonadotropins (Menopur, Puregone, Gonal-F). Under the influence of injected gonadotropins, not one egg matures in the ovaries, as in the natural menstrual cycle, but several at once, which significantly increases the frequency of pregnancy in the IVF program. Hormonal and ultrasound monitoring is performed during ovarian superovulation stimulation. 10-11 days after the start of ovarian follicle stimulation, the eggs mature. This process is optimized by introducing a trigger dose of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG).

3. The procedure for extracting eggs from ovarian follicles is performed 34-36 hours after injection of chorionic gonadotropin by puncturing the ovaries through the vagina with a special thin needle under ultrasound control. During ovarian puncture, short-term intravenous anesthesia is usually used. In cases where it is impossible to obtain one's own eggs of good quality, in vitro fertilization with donor eggs is performed.

4. At the same time, the husband's sperm is collected and specially processed. In some cases (for example, with an absolute male factor of infertility), patients can use a donor sperm bank.

5. The embryological stage. The fertilization of eggs with the sperm of the husband / donor and the cultivation of the resulting embryos is carried out in the laboratory for 3-5 days. 16-18 hours after fertilization, a zygote is formed in the in vitro fertilization program – a fertilized egg with male and female pronuclei. After 20-22 hours, the first crushing of the fertilized egg occurs. When properly crushed on the second day after fertilization, the embryo consists of 4 cells (blastomeres). On the fourth day, a morula is formed, a cell mass formed by fused blastomeres. On the fifth day after fertilization, the morula transforms into a blastocyst, a cluster of trophoblast and embryoblast cells forming a small cavity filled with fluid.