Methods to Increase Success in IVF

When success is expressed as pregnancy rate, it is generally known to be inversely proportional to increasing age. As the woman's age increases, the success rate of IVF decreases. While the chance of success in the first attempt in IVF treatments reaches sixty percent in young women (under the age of 35),it decreases to 20 percent after the age of 40.

What are the methods that increase success in IVF?

1. Frozen Embryo Transfer
2. Pool Method
3. Killer Cell Therapy (Serum Therapy)
4. Scratching the Uterus (Hysteroscopy)

1. Frozen Embryo Transfer

The embryos of couples who start IVF treatment after egg collection can be frozen on day 2, 3, 5 or 6. After a certain period of time, embryo transfer is started.

Our patients who have undergone the freezing procedure often menstruate 1-2 weeks after the egg retrieval procedure. The transfer of frozen embryos is performed during this menstrual period immediately after egg retrieval or a few months later, when the inner lining of the uterus is thickened with the help of the hormone estrogen and embryo transfer is planned. This process is called uterine resting.

When is frozen embryo transfer preferable?

1. If a genetic examination of the embryo is to be performed
2. If embryo pooling will be performed in patients with low egg reserve
3. It can be applied in patients with polycystic ovary syndrome or high egg count in order to increase IVF success by postponing the transfer.

2. Pool Method

The pool method is a method applied in our patients with low egg reserve in order to freeze the embryos formed after the egg collection process, to continue the egg collection process according to the number and quality of the embryos and to increase the success when proceeding to the embryo transfer stage.

3. Killer Cell Therapy (Serum Therapy)

After embryo transfer, our body secretes some embryo adhesive molecules and cells that help the embryo to attach to the uterus. Some types of killer cells (CD56) have properties that negatively affect both the embryo and the secretion and number of these adhesion-promoting substances. Increased numbers of these cells cause the uterus to perceive the embryo as a foreign body and reject it.

For this reason, serum therapy is applied to suppress these cells before or after embryo transfer, especially in couples who have had good quality embryo transfer but have failed and have recurrent pregnancy losses.

4. Scratching the Uterus (Hysteroscopy)

Hysteroscopy is performed by entering the uterus through the vaginal canal with a camera system. The procedure is an operation that requires short-term anesthesia and does not require hospitalization and the intervention is inside the uterus. During the procedure, it can be determined whether there is an infection or other problem in the uterus and treatment can be performed at the same time with some instruments in the same session.

Scratching the uterus is the process of entering the uterus and injuring it with scissors or similar tools, especially in patients with IVF failure. In this way, it is aimed to renew the inner sheath of the uterus and increase success in the next attempt.