Based on the results from the blood test assessment and scans, a medication protocol is designed for the female, this will be daily hormonal injections with a combination of vitamins to stimulate the antral follicles and enable the follicles to grow. There are two types of stimulation protocols, Long and Short, the preferred protocol is generally the Short protocol (Antaggonist) as stimulation will begin on day two or three of the menstrual cycle and will last between 11-13 days. Ultrasounds and blood tests will be needed at certain stages of the stimulation, so the female will be closely monitored to check follicle development.
The hormone stimulation is a series of hormone daily subcutaneous injections (GnRH) and these encourage the eggs in your body to grow but the dose of the medication is also dependent on factors such as how may potential antral follicles are present, height and weight.

Once the stimulation process is completed and the follicles are of a certain size to be triggered, the last injections are applied and these are to invoke ovulation and also help to increase the number of mature eggs collected. There are two different types of trigger injections that can be used individually or in combination (containing hCG / containing GnRH analogue) but these injections are also sold under different brand names in different countries. Based on your follicle development, your doctor will determine which trigger injections should. Egg collection (OPU) is performed, 34-36 hours after the trigger injection is administered at a certain time.
The egg collection itself is a very straight forward procedure, and anaesthesia is used to sedate the female, to make the egg collection less stressful. Prior to the egg collection we need the female to be nil by mouth (no food or water) for 4-6 hours because anaesthesia will be administered intravenously. On the day of the egg collection, the sperm sample will also be needed we recommend a minimum of 2-3 days abstinence. The sperm sample will then be processed within the laboratory and then the one good looking quality sperm will be injected into each mature egg. After the egg collection procedure, a new medication protocol will begin (e.g. Progesterone) to prepare the body for the transfer of the embryos to maximise the chances of pregnancy.

After Microinjection, the dishes are labelled and stored within special incubators with the patients ID and 16-18 hours after injection they are monitored to determine whether fertilisation has taken place.

Your doctor will advise you (based on embryo development) which day the transfer will be best to be carried out. Depending on egg count or endometrium thickness, your doctor may decide to freeze the embryos for transfer at a later stage. If the embryo transfer process is carried out in the same cycle the transfer will take place on day 3 or on day 5 post egg collection. The day of embryo transfer will be determined by the physician and embryologist, taking into account the number of embryos, their quality and they will take into account your previous treatment results. If after the embryo transfer, you have more good quality embryos, these can then be frozen for future transfer attempts. The Transfer procedure is a straight forward and painless procedure, it does not require any anaesthesia or sedation. Patients who are sensitive maybe sedated for the transfer if needed. The transfer is carried out with a full bladder, so you are requested to drink plenty of water before the procedure.

Once the bladder is full the endometrium can be clearly identified with the aid of ultrasound guidance. The embryologist draws the embryo into a catheter and passes it to the doctor and with the aid of the ultrasound the catheter is guided by a nurse the catheter is placed on to the endometrium and the embryo(s) are released. After the transfer, you are taken to the room and are asked to rest for approximately 1 hour. After the transfer, and resting for one hour, medication protocol will be adjusted and you will be discharged from the Centre as you will be treatment as an outpatient.