Treatment options at the Washington University Infertility and Reproductive Medicine Center

Treatment options include:

• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) -- a procedure in which eggs (oocytes) are surgically retrieved from a woman’s ovaries and mixed with sperm in a test tube, where fertilization occurs naturally. The best embryos are selected and returned to the mother's uterus via the cervix within days.

• Medical Therapies -- Drugs administered to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs or egg follicles. Insemination with partner or donor sperm is often used with a medical therapies approach.

• Surgery -- to remove endometriosis, fibroid tumors, polyps or adhesions, or to correct other abnormalities.

• Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) -- a micromanipulation technique used when the sperm quality is poor or fertilization has failed to occur with traditional IVF.

• Cryopreservation -- the process of freezing; can be used to freeze embryos not selected for transfer. They may be used in subsequent cycles for the first pregnancy or saved for future pregnancies. We also assist patients facing cancer treatment that may interfere with future pregnancies by freezing sperm and embryos. Microepididymal sperm aspiration (MESA) is a procedure in which sperm are aspirated by one of our urologists and frozen by our Andrology Laboratory for future use.

• Donor Eggs -- may be used in IVF in women who are unable to achieve a pregnancy with their own eggs. Donor eggs are fertilized with the sperm of the recipient’s partner (or with donor sperm in cases of male infertility) and transferred to the recipient.

• The Gestational Carrier Program -- works with couples who provide their own gestational carrier (a woman who carries a pregnancy for the genetic parents, who provide the egg and sperm). The program does not solicit gestational carrier volunteers for couples.