IVF Treatment Types

All IVF treatments have a lot in common

Even with all of these differences, all IVF cycles are trying to do the same thing: mimic some or all of the natural processes of conception. In this way they have a lot in common.

Fresh Transfer

In a Fresh Transfer Cycle patients go from stimulation all the way through to embryo transfer and a pregnancy test.

A Fresh Transfer Cycle is made up of multiple phases and events

1. Day 1 - The cycle begins on the first day of menstrual bleeding.
2. Stimulation - During the stimulation phase patients take hormone injections to encourage multiple follicles to grow. During this phase blood tests and ultrasound scans are used to track follicle growth and hormone levels.
3. Egg collection - Mature eggs are collected from the ovaries via a surgical procedure guided by ultrasound. This is either performed under sedation or general anaesthetic. This step is sometimes called egg collection or oocyte retrieval.
4. Fertilisation and development - Depending on the type of treatment, eggs are either mixed with sperm (standard insemination or IVF) or injected with a single sperm (ICSI). Fertilised eggs (embryos) develop in the lab for several days (usually between 3 to 6 days).
5. Transfer - One (or very occasionally two) embryos are placed into the uterus. Any additional viable embryos are frozen at this stage in case they are needed later.
6. Waiting - After transfer there is a waiting period of 10–14 days during which the patient continues to take progesterone to prepare the uterine lining for embryo implantation.
7. Pregnancy test - After the waiting period a pregnancy test reveals whether the embryo implanted successfully.

Preimplantation Genetic Testing

Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) cycles follow the same path as a fresh transfer cycle, but instead of transferring an embryo this time, viable embryos are biopsied and frozen to carry out a genetic test on the embryos.

Freeze All

Freeze All cycles follow the same path as a fresh transfer cycle, but instead of transferring an embryo, viable embryos are frozen for transfer at a later date.

A successful Freeze All cycle will be followed by a Frozen Embryo Transfer cycle at a later date.

Frozen Embryo Transfer

Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET) Cycles (sometimes referred to as Thaw Cycles) pick up where Freeze All and PGT cycles end when a previously frozen embryo is placed into the uterus. Before the transfer takes place the uterine lining is prepared with hormones such as oestrogen followed by progesterone to receive the embryo. These hormones can come from the dominant follicle developing in your natural menstrual cycle or from hormonal medication.

You may need to do more than one cycle

Often it will take a number of cycles to achieve pregnancy. This may be by design like in the case of a Freeze All followed by a Frozen Embryo Transfer. But it may also be because the cycle was unsuccessful. It’s important to understand that IVF treatments don’t always follow a straight line from initial consultation to pregnancy.