Louise Brown is a British official. Less than a year ago – on July 25, 2018, she turned 40 years old. IVF was invented 40 years ago- Louise is the first child in the world who owes her life to this method.
Louise Brown is a British official. In 2004, she married Wesley Mullinder, with whom she has two sons. Less than a year ago – on July 25, 2018, she turned 40 years old. IVF was invented 40 years ago- Louise is the first child in the world who owes her life to this method. Before the world heard about the “baby from the tube”- as she was called then, on November 10, 1977, her mother’s cell was fertilized with her father’s semen.
This was done by biologist Robert Edwards and gynecologist Patrick Steptoe. The treatment was the crowning achievement of many years of research, later awarded with the Nobel Prize. For parents of Louise, Lesley and John Brown – the happiness they waited nine years for. For hundreds of couples who, like Lesley and John, were unsuccessfully waiting for a child, the treatment became a hope for the dreams of offspring to come true. It is estimated that during these 40 years, thanks to IVF and other advanced therapies, at least 8 million children have been born.
Careful selection
In the IVF procedure half of the success is selecting the best quality genetic material. This can now be achieved by fertilization with the IMSI (Intracytoplasmic Morphologically Selected Sperm Injection) method. This technique uses advanced digital-optical technology that allows embryologists to choose a sperm with the correct structure based on a microscopic image magnification of up to 6,600 times.
This method is primarily targeted at couples in whom the cause of infertility lies on the male side. Immediately before injection of the sperm into the egg, its head is carefully evaluated by an embryologist under very high microscopic magnification. Once the best sperm has been selected, it is administered directly into the cytoplasm of the ovum, using a special micromanipulator. The combined cells are placed for 2-3 days in an incubator with conditions very similar to those in the female body. After this period, the embryos are ready for transfer.
Ovaries rejuvenation
In order for fertilization to occur, a woman must have a sufficient number of fertilized eggs. When there are too few of them, we are talking about low ovarian reserve, which is one of the common causes of female infertility. Although in vitro fertilization is possible in this case, pregnancy may end in a miscarriage.
Recently, a new, effective method has been developed to combat this problem – ovarian mesotherapy with platelet rich plasma. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a blood-derived preparation containing an increased number of platelets. It is obtained from blood collected from the patient. It is rich in numerous growth factors that stimulate regenerative processes. Ovarian mesotherapy with platelet rich plasma is a modern therapy that is used to activate follicles to grow and, as a result, to stimulate the development of their eggs. Plasma obtained from our own body is administered directly to the patient’s ovary.
From cosmetology to medicine
Sometimes, although the embryo bodes well, pregnancy cannot be maintained because the embryo cannot implant in the uterus. The remedy for this is to use EmbryoGlue as a medium for embryo transfer. EmbryoGlue, which is characterized by a high hyaluronan content, is much more effective when compared to material that does not contain hyaluronic acid or has lower concentrations.
I think every woman knows what hyaluronic acid is. Called by some “the elixir of youth” it is often contained in cosmetics. It is a polysaccharide from the glycosaminoglycan group that is found in all organisms – from bacteria to mammals. We have it in the skin, it also occurs, among others in the uterine fluid, uterus and follicular fluid of a woman. Recently, it has also been successfully used in reproductive medicine. Hyaluronic acid in the transfer fluid increases the viscosity of the medium and facilitates the adhesion of the embryo to the endometrium. Thus, it facilitates implantation of the embryo in the uterus, imitating the effect of uterine secretions from the preimplantation period. On the day of embryo transfer, hyaluronan mediates the contact of the embryo and endometrium at the beginning of the implantation process.
Embryogen culture
Every fifth couple who intend to undergo in vitro fertilization have experienced at least one miscarriage in the past. Over 80% of these miscarriages occurred in the first trimester of pregnancy. The causes can be both weak intercellular signaling, abnormal embryo development, and deficiency of growth factors. The latter are complemented by EmbryoGen. This is the first embryo culture medium having a high concentration of GM-CSF cytokine growth factor. It increases the chance of successful embryo implantation and its further development. At the same time, it reduces the risk of miscarriage, because it stimulates the formation of colonies of granulocytes and macrophages, and also helps in communication between the mother and the embryo.
Not only soothes customs
It is said that music soothes manners. But it turns out that not only. Recently, scientists from the Instituto Marquès in Barcelona have found that music positively affects the success of in vitro fertilization. Research published by Catalan specialists shows that the vibrations caused by music increase by as much as 4.8 percent. a chance of fertilizing an egg. The Gyncentrum Clinic has also decided to introduce this innovative method supporting the in vitro procedure to its embryological laboratory.
Special speakers placed in a breeding incubator filled with embryos play classical music, rock and pop. The sounds cause delicate vibrations of droplets of culture media in which the embryos are located. These movements affect fertilization and the normal growth of embryos. Music, in addition to a constant temperature, blackout, an appropriate composition of the atmosphere rich in carbon dioxide and poor in oxygen, reproduces the conditions in which the egg moves to the uterus.
Security system
The OCTAX Ferti Proof security system is an innovative barcode marking system for reproductive materials and embryos. Its purpose is to secure the in vitro procedure at every stage and to eliminate the risk of errors that may arise from human fault. From the very beginning, when a couple is qualified for the IVF procedure, an individual bar code is assigned to it. The same codes also determine germ cells and embryos belonging to a pair of patients. From then on, the OCTAX Ferti Proof system records the pathway of the biological material.
Each procedure in the laboratory and each treatment is preceded by scanning the material used. When the system detects any irregularities, an alarm is triggered that automatically blocks further actions. It is a solution that is currently used by the best IVF clinics in the world. The Gyncentrum Clinic is the first institution in Poland to implement this system to increase the safety and effectiveness of infertility treatment.
Closer to nature – anevivo
IVF and advanced methods of artificial reproductive technology did not rest on their laurels. Four decades of experience and millions of conceptions are luggage that allows to systematically improve and modify the procedure. One of them is the creation of AneVivo. This is an innovative method of IVF fertilization, which can be a chance for a child for people who do not want to opt for standard in vitro for ideological reasons. The difference between IVF and AneVivo lies in the fact that in the latter method, developed by the Swiss, artificial fertilization occurs not on the Petri dish but in a woman&rsquos body. AneVivo is therefore a more natural approach of solving the problem of infertility.
Thanks to it, the time the embryo stays outside the mother’s body is reduced to the minimum necessary.
Gyncentrum is the first clinic in Poland to use AneVivo. In 2017, the first child in Poland conceived thanks to this method was born. Ane Vivo can also be used by couples who choose IVF with donor cells.
