In Vitro Maturation

In Vitro Maturation (IVM)

IVM is new assisted reproduction and donor insemination method where an egg is matured and fertilized in the lab to attempt pregnancy as an alternative to standard IVF.

A woman might be a good candidate for IVM if she’s experienced previous bad reactions to fertility drugs, has developed ovarian hyper-stimulation syndrome (OHSS), polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) or has had cancers that are hormonally responsive.

Women under 35 years of age with large numbers of ovarian follicles or women who have attempted stimulated IVF and produced a large number of eggs are good candidates for IVM.

In Vitro Maturation is cheaper than IVF because it doesn’t involve expensive fertility injections like gonadotropin. An IVM cycle costs approximately $5k to $7k as opposed to traditional IVF, which costs about $15k to $20k. An IVM cycle is generally shorter than an IVF cycle as well.

The IVM Process

1)      A woman has a vaginal ultrasound between days 3 and 5 of her menstrual cycle. If no evidence for natural ovulation and regular menstrual cycles exists, she might be a candidate for just IVM. If her ovulatory cycle is regular, she may be a candidate for natural cycle IVF combined with IVM.

2)      hCG is injected into the woman and the eggs are retrieved 36 hours later.

3)      The immature eggs are placed in a petri dish with a special hormone-infused culture medium to help the eggs mature.

4)      The matured eggs are exposed to, or injected with, sperm and cultured for several days to allow embryo development.

5)      The embryos are implanted back into the woman’s uterus.

 Risks of IVM

IVM requires less fertility medication which significantly decreases the risk of OHSS and other drug-related complications. However, the technology is still being developed and the overall success rates and long-term outcomes of IVM are unclear.