What are the factors that affect IVF success?
Success rates in IVF depend on some factors. Age is the most important factor. As a woman gets older, her chance to conceive reduces, especially after 44 years of age the chance of getting pregnant is practically negligible. Besides, pelvic inflammatory disease, reproductive tract infections, and sexually transmitted infections, which may damage the ovaries and fallopian tubes, negatively affect the chance of conceiving.

Egg quality, sperm motility and viability, embryo quality, and endometrium receptivity for embryo implantation are very important for achieving pregnancy. Any factors such as ovulation disorders, hydrosalpinx (the fallopian tube that's blocked with a watery fluid), uterine adhesions that prevent embryo implantation, fibroids and polyps, and poor egg and poor sperm quality affect the success of IVF negatively.

How many days do we need to stay in TRNC for the IVF procedures?
After completing the preliminary preparation process in your location, your arrival date to Cyprus is determined, and your stay in Cyprus may range from 2 days to 7 days depending on the procedure that you will undergo. You can call our center to learn exactly how long you need to stay in Cyprus due to your fertility condition.

Until what age can I receive IVF treatment?
Age limit on IVF treatment can vary from country to country, and from center to center. Most IVF centers accept patients up to 44 years old. The Near East IVF Center has achieved many pregnancies in women between 42 and 45 years old with their own eggs. Our Center also has achieved pregnancies in those over 45 years old by using their frozen embryos or donated eggs or embryos.

What is microinjection?
Microinjection, also known as intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection, is an IVF treatment method that ensures fertilization by injecting a single sperm directly into a mature egg.

How does microinjection differ from IVF?
IVF is offered as a primary treatment for infertility in women while microinjection is a method used in fertility treatment associated predominantly with severe male infertility. The key difference between them is how the sperm fertilizes the egg.

Who can benefit from IVF or microinjection? How?
Couples, who are unable to have a baby due to infertility associated with the female partner or male partner or unexplained infertility, can benefit from the traditional IVF cycle or microinjection method.

In conventional IVF, eggs, and sperm retrieved from each partner are placed in a petri dish for spontaneous fertilization in the embryology lab. After fertilization, the best quality embryos are selected for transfer.

For ICSI, a single sperm, which is selected by using a microscope, is directly injected into the cytoplasm of the egg with the help of a micropipette. After fertilization, the best quality embryos are selected for transfer.

What are the stages of the IVF cycle?
IVF involves several steps consisting of ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval, sperm retrieval, fertilization, and embryo transfer.

What should be done in case of low sperm count or azoospermia (no sperm in semen)?
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (microinjection) is the best way to deal with low sperm count. In the case of azoospermia (no sperm in semen), a surgical procedure such as TESA or Micro-TESE is applied to aspire sperm from the testicles. Once the sperm is retrieved, the microinjection method is used for fertilization.

How are eggs retrieved? Is the egg retrieval process painful?
Eggs are retrieved via transvaginal ultrasound aspiration directly from the ovarian follicles under vaginal short general anesthesia. The procedure lasts about 20-30 minutes and it is painless.

How does the patient feel after egg retrieval?
After egg retrieval, the patient will be able to go home within a short time and even resume her work in the afternoon of the same day.

Does ovarian reserve diminish due to ovarian induction?
Stimulating ovaries for in vitro fertilization does not diminish the ovarian reserve.

Is every egg qualified for fertilization?
Not every follicle develops into an ovum. Only mature and structurally normal eggs are qualified for fertilization. The appearance of two pronuclei is the first sign of successful fertilization. However, not every fertilized egg forms a fully developed healthy embryo.

How are embryos transferred to the uterus?
Embryo transfer is a simple procedure. The embryo(s) with the highest pregnancy potential is/are transferred to the uterus under ultrasound guidance with the help of a fine special catheter.

Are there any remaining embryos after the transfer procedure? If so, what happens to the remaining embryos?
Since a good number of embryos are obtained in IVFand one or two embryos with higher implantation potential are transferred, the remaining embryos are examined and evaluated by the embryologist and the healthy embryos can be frozen for future use upon the demand of the couple.

How are embryos selected? How to prevent multiple pregnancies?
Healthy embryos are selected for fresh transfer. Depending on the woman's age, 1-3 of the best quality embryos are selected for transfer .A single embryo (usually a blastocyst) is transferred to prevent multiple pregnancies.

How to avoid multiple pregnancies?
It is preferable to avoid the risk of multiple pregnancies by limiting the number of embryos to be transferred. The number of embryos to be transferred depends on the woman's age, reproductive history, and embryo quality. Limiting the number of embryos to be transferred to one or two is applicable in women( especially in women who are young or experienced pregnancy before) with a high pregnancy chance. Transferring two healthy embryos raises the likelihood of having twins.

What can be done if multiple (triple)pregnancy occurs?
The embryo reduction technique is recommended for preventing and managing multiple pregnancies resulting from IVF.

How much does IVF cost? What is the method of payment?

•     You can call our pricing section and learn the amount of money you are required to pay for your IVF treatment.
• The price is in Euros. You are required to pay the whole price in cash on the first day of the procedure. You can make your payment in Turkish Lira, USD or GBP by using the current exchange rates in TRNC.
• There are no installments for the payments.

Is there a risk of embryo reduction, does it affect the course of pregnancy?

It is preferable to avoid the risk of multiple pregnancies by limiting the number of embryos to be transferred.
Reducing the number of fetuses in multiple pregnancies to a twin or singleton pregnancy may pose a risk for fetal loss. The rate of fetal loss due to the multifetal reduction is 5%.  Compared to spontaneous twin pregnancies, the rate of premature birth and miscarriage is higher in twin pregnancies achieved by reducing the triplets or quadruplets pregnancy to a twin pregnancy.

Should I rest after the embryo transfer?
There is no evidence indicating rest is beneficial after embryo transfer. We recommend that you resume your daily life.

When can I get the results of pregnancy?
Pregnancy is detected with a Beta-HCG blood test generally performed on the 12th day following the embryo transfer. Once the embryo transfer is complete, your doctor or nurses will provide you with information about on which day your pregnancy test will be performed.

Does sexual intercourse affect embryo implantation?
It is recommended to abstain from sexual activity until the day of the pregnancy test. This pelvic rest provides the embryo with optimal time to implant into the uterine wall.

Do the fertility drugs used in IVF treatment increase the risk of cancer?  Do these drugs have side effects?
Scientific studies clearly indicate that using fertility drugs does not increase the risk of cancer. Fertility drugs used in IVF treatment are safe but using these drugs more often than usual may cause hyperstimulation syndrome, which resolves in 7-10 days spontaneously. Nothing to concern about because you are in safe and experienced hands in the Near East IVF Centre.

Does fertility treatment pose a risk for ectopic pregnancy?
The probability of ectopic pregnancy is 1-3%. The probability of Heterotopic pregnancy (co-existence of normal intrauterine and ectopic pregnancy) is 0.5%.

What is the success rate of IVF with frozen embryos?
The Success rate depends on the freezing and thawing techniques and the experience of the IVFcentre. Since the Near East IVF Centre applies vitrification cryopreservation, which is an extremely rapid cooling method that ice-crystals never form, embryos have similar attributes to fresh ones when thawed for transfer. The chance of getting pregnant with a frozen-thawed embryo is almost the same as that of fresh embryo transfer.

Are birth defects more common in babies born from frozen embryos compared to babies born with normal IVF?
No. There is no difference. Thanks to experienced and competent staff and up-to-date technology of the Near East IVF Centre, our babies born either from frozen embryos or with normal IVF are as healthy as babies born with natural pregnancies.

What is the procedure if pregnancy doesn't occur despite the couple having no medically diagnosed fertility problem?
If pregnancy fails through IVF or assisted reproductive treatment options, a detailed examination is required to be conducted again. If any medical condition preventing fertility is detected, it should be treated. However, there is usually no obvious cause. Infertility without any medical cause is defined as unexplained infertility.

How long does IVF treatment last?
The process of IVF from start  to the date of pregnancy test takes about 30 days.

Is returning home immediately after the transfer risky?
Since there is no scientific evidence proving that travelling after transfer has any adverse effects, we encourage our patients to resume their daily routine or travelling back to their home place immediately after embryo transfer.

Is the risk of miscarriage higher in IVF pregnancies?
Compared with spontaneous (natural) pregnancies,  in vitro fertilization pregnancies do not have a higher risk of miscarriage.

How many times can IVF be tried?
Although no definite number is specified for this, the chance of pregnancy decreases after three attempts. Pregnancy can be achieved in subsequent attempts, but the chance is less.

Can the baby's gender be selected in IVF treatment?
Yes, in vitro fertilization with preimplantation genetic diagnosis enables gender selection. However, selecting the baby's gender through the use of IVF without a medical reason is not possible neither ethicaly nor legally in many countries.

Are there any precautions that can be taken for genetic problems before pregnancy occurs?
Yes. In case of a family history of a genetic disorder(s), by using a blood sample taken from the person, the Carrier Genetic Test (CGT) makes it possible to screen and evaluate over 300 genetically transmitted diseases and thousands of gene mutations linked to over 1600 diseases. In IVF, embryos are examined via preimplantation genetic diagnosis for disease-associated abnormal chromosomes. Then, only healthy embryos free from genetic mutations are selected and implanted in the mother's uterus.

To whom is genetic examination of embryos recommended?
In embryos, genetic diagnosis is possible for Mediterranean anemia, sickle cell anemia and many similar diseases that are inherited through a single gene.

Can genetic problems be identified during pregnancy?
After pregnancy occurs, some genetic diseases can be diagnosed by chorionic villus sampling or amniocentesis.

What is the chance of being successful in IVFprocedure?
Success depends on the woman's age and embryo quality. Pregnancy rates under the age of 30 are over 50% and decrease to 10-15% after the age of 40.

What are the potential risks of the IVF procedure?
The most important potential risks are multiple pregnancy and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.

Is it required to be hospitalized during IVF treatment?
No hospitalization is not required at any stage of the procedure.

Is there any difference between babies conceived through in vitro fertilization and naturally conceived babies?
No, there is not any difference. However, scarcely any anomalies may be encountered in fertilization and pregnancy outcomes when extracted testicular sperm is used. Once a live birth is achieved, there is no difference in neonatal outcomes when compared with naturally born babies.