Sterility Is Not A Sentence

2024 Author: Rachel Wainwright | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 07:39

Sterility is not a sentence

The content of the article:

1. What methods do doctors use to restore fertility?

   1. ICSI
   2. Vitrification
   3. Preimplantation genetic testing

   Statistics show that in Russia, about 15% of couples experience difficulties with conception. Fortunately, the possibilities of modern reproductive medicine make it possible to achieve the birth of a healthy baby in the vast majority of cases. In other words, now infertility is no longer a sentence.

   What methods do doctors use to restore fertility?

   Contrary to popular belief, in the reproductive clinic for the treatment of infertility, not only IVF is used, but also other methods that often help to achieve the onset of a natural pregnancy.

   For example, in the absence of ovulation, hormones help. And if a man has a pathology such as varicocele (varicose veins of the spermatic cord), surgical intervention will be effective.

   If the situation is more difficult, assisted reproductive technologies come to the rescue. Let's find out what methods of ART, which have appeared relatively recently, can significantly increase the effectiveness of infertility treatment.

   

   ICSI

   Intracytoplasmic sperm injection into the oocyte (this is how the abbreviation stands) makes it possible to achieve pregnancy with severe male factor infertility. For example, if many germ cells have structural abnormalities (that is, diagnosed with teratozoospermia).

   The essence of the method is that the embryologist selects the best of the available spermatozoa (both on the basis of visual assessment and using additional selection methods) and then, using a microneedle, places it inside one of the eggs. It so happens that the sex gametes in the ejaculate are completely absent (that is, there is azoospermia), but doctors can get them from the tissue of the testicle or its epididymis by biopsy.

   

   Vitrification

   This modern method of freezing cells and tissues allows you to preserve them for a long time and at the same time avoid damage to cellular structures. Previously, cryopreservation of biomaterial was carried out by slow freezing, which resulted in the formation of ice crystals. Now this can be avoided. The introduction of the vitrification method into widespread practice has significantly expanded the possibilities of reproductive medicine.

   First, the IVF program with donor oocytes has become more effective and easier, since there is no longer a need to synchronize the menstrual cycles of the recipient and the donor.

   Secondly, it became possible to conduct a program of delayed motherhood, which involves the freezing of eggs and their long-term storage at ultra-low temperatures. Being at a young age, when there are usually no complaints about the quality and quantity of oocytes, a woman vitrifies them and leaves them in the clinic. When she decides to become a mother, the genetic material will be thawed and used in the IVF cycle.

   Preimplantation genetic testing

   Within the framework of IVF, the obtained embryos can now be tested for the presence of chromosomal abnormalities or hereditary pathologies. Only those without genetic disorders are transferred to the uterine cavity.

   

   OGT can be recommended not only for infertile couples. This method is also relevant, for example, for women who are at a later age (since the risk of chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus increases significantly over the years), or for patients who have a high risk of having a child with a monogenic disease.

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