Reciprocal IVF is a unique treatment for same sex female couples – where one will donate eggs and the other will become pregnant. It is also suitable for those with trans partners.
While the egg retrieval is happening, your chosen donor sperm sample is prepared for use. In the laboratory, a concentrated preparation of the best motile sperm is extracted from the semen sample. This sperm preparation (containing approximately 150,000 sperm) is added to the dishes containing the eggs, and they are incubated together overnight.
On the morning after egg retrieval, the eggs are examined to see which have fertilised. Fertilised eggs (zygotes) are cultured in the IVF laboratory until day 5 or 6, the blastocyst stage, at which point they are frozen to await transfer to the other partner.
Our complete packages include everything you need with no hidden costs.
*Not included: Donor Sperm
You may wonder why we choose to do frozen embryo transfers for Reciprocal IVF cycles? The answer is simple. Sometimes it is difficult for us to synchronize the menstrual cycles of both partners, and this puts additional stress on the procedure. If we transfer fresh embryos when the uterine lining is not optimal, we risk losing those embryos. By freezing the embryos before use, we give ourselves the time to reach optimal uterine conditions for the embryo transfer. Additionally, it is best to confirm that there are viable embryos before putting a person on the medications for the Frozen Embryo Transfer cycle.
The embryos that are created by the process are owned jointly by you as a couple. They can be used by either person for Frozen Embryo Transfer in the future
Implications counselling is mandatory under Irish law for anyone undergoing treatment using donor gametes. For this reason, we have built the cost of your counselling into our complete package cost. We will refer you to an experienced therapist, who will bill us directly for your session. The reason for implications counselling is to help you to reflect on and understand the proposed form of treatment for you and your partner and any children born as a result of of your treatment.
