
Medfem Fertility Clinic Celebrates World IVF and Embryologist Day 2024
Happy World IVF and Embryologist Day! Celebrated on 25 July each year, World IVF and Embryologist Day is one of our favourite days of the year, a time to celebrate a technology that continues to change millions of lives decade after decade, as well as the specialist scientists who make it possible for once-impossible family dreams to come true.
In this article, we share why In Vitro Fertilisation or IVF is a technology truly worth celebrating and also provide a rare inside glimpse into the work embryologists do each day so millions of people can experience the joy of having their own child.
Originally developed in the late 1970’s, to help women with damaged fallopian tubes to conceive, In Vitro Fertilisation or IVF it is still considered one of the most remarkable medical breakthroughs. It has now become the standard medical treatment for many couples facing infertility due to a range of factors in both the female and male partners.
So, what exactly is IVF, how do embryologists fit into the picture, and why is IVF and the embryologists who make it possible worth celebrating? We gladly answer these questions as part of our Medfem Fertility Clinic World IVF and Embryologist Day celebrations.
What is in vitro fertilisation or IVF?
In the simplest terms, IVF treatment is a process of assisted reproduction therapy (ART) through which eggs are fertilised with sperm outside of the body to form an embryo, which is then transferred into the uterus, where it will hopefully implant and become a pregnancy.
A more detailed explanation, however, provides a more realistic overview of what this amazing process entails.
The IVF process involves a series of procedures that are completed over five stages to complete a treatment cycle. The whole process – from commencement of ovarian stimulation up to the embryo transfer stage – usually takes just under three weeks and is very briefly described below.
An IVF treatment cycle usually commences with a course of hormone therapy to stimulate the development of several egg follicles in the ovary. Once mature, these follicles are then punctured with a specialised needle under ultrasound guidance to retrieve the eggs. The eggs are then fertilised in the lab by specialists called embryologists to create several embryos. After three to five days in an incubator, one or two of these embryos are transferred through the vagina to the uterus where, hopefully, implantation occurs and pregnancy begins.
As in natural conception, not every follicle will contain an egg, not every egg will be fertilised, not every egg that is fertilised will go on to form a good-quality embryo and not every embryo implants to become a pregnancy. As a result, more than one IVF treatment cycle may be necessary for some couples.
How do embryologists fit into the IVF process?
Responsible for managing the care of the sperm, eggs and embryos in an IVF lab, embryologists are specialised fertility experts that are crucial to the success of any IVF treatment cycle.
Highly qualified, embryologists are the most important medical professionals involved with creating the embryos transferred during IVF, as they collect and care for the eggs and prepare them for insemination; they assess, care for and prepare sperm samples; and mix eggs with sperm for fertilisation. They also do very detailed procedures such as selecting a single sperm to fertilise an egg, in an advanced procedure known as ICSI, short for intracytoplasmic sperm injection.
Embryologists are also responsible for monitoring the resulting embryos as they develop for about five days, before it is viable to transfer the embryos to the mom-to-be’s uterus.
Here at Medfem Fertility Clinic, we thank and acknowledge our dedicated team of embryologists for their expertise and skills that have helped so many men and women achieve their dream of a family.
We are very proud of our excellent embryologist team at our fertility clinic, and we would love to introduce them to you! We invite you to meet them here link to Meet the Medfem Fertility Clinic Embryologist Team this World Embryologist Day.
Supported by cutting-edge equipment and the latest technologies, our team of embryologists also keep our patients informed at every stage of the IVF lab process, by contacting our patients telephonically as soon as test results are in, for example, to report how many eggs have been fertilised, and after each examination – embryos are evaluated every second day – to provide patients with an update on the embryo quality and to answer any questions they may have.
Why is IVF treatment and embryologists worth celebrating?
A diagnosis of infertility – the inability to conceive naturally after one year of regular, unprotected sex – can be devastating to a couple. Sadly, it is a reality for more and more couples, with current estimates indicating that as many as one in six couples worldwide face this challenge.
Thanks to IVF treatment, which has proven safe and highly effective over several decades, millions of couples around the world struggling with infertility have found hope and success in building the families they dream of.
Today, the success rates for IVF treatment are comparable – and even superior – to those of nature. In fact, according to the Science Museum, around 6 million babies worldwide have been born through IVF since the birth of the first baby to be born through IVF treatment 40 years ago.
This technology that continues to change millions of lives each year, has also received the highest recognition, with the 2010 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine going to the team who develop the technique of IVF in the early 1970’s.
World-class IVF and embryologists at Medfem Fertility Clinic
Our team at Medfem Fertility Clinic have performed an average of 1,100 IVF treatment cycles a year over our more than 30 years of practice – that’s experience spanning more than 33,000 IVF cycles!
We are also immensely proud that one of the founders of Medfem Fertility Clinic, our very own Dr Johan Van Schouwenburg (now retired), was part of the first IVF treatment that was performed in South Africa at Tygerberg Hospital in 1983.
This means that when you have IVF treatment at Medfem Fertility Clinic, you are in the hands of consummate professionals who care.
We implement individualised IVF stimulation protocols which are customised to each patient according to a multitude of factors, including infertility diagnosis, age, weight/height, prior cycle outcome and prior reproductive history.
Our IVF treatment success rates that have consistently remained high and well above the national averages. In fact, our success rates are consistent with the highest reported amongst clinics worldwide. We are proud to have played a role in bringing more than 18,000 babies into the world!
We believe in making world-class fertility treatments available for everyone and it is our joy and commitment to give you a positive outcome to your fertility journey, so you will have a fond memory of feeling empathy, caring and being part of the Medfem Fertility Clinic family.
If you would like to find out more about IVF and whether it is the right option for you, simply click here to book an initial consultation or contact us telephonically on +27 (11) 463 2244.
Our Fertility Specialists can also meet with You During a Virtual Consultation Via Zoom or Skype. Click here to book a virtual consultation now.
We look forward to meeting you at Medfem Fertility Clinic!