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 IVF FAQHow do I become an IVF patient? Does provincial health care or private insurance cover the costs of IVF? All fertility treatments including IVF are uninsured services under provincial health care plans. Therefore, patients are responsible for the entire treatment costs. The costs of fertility treatments are non-insured medical expenses. These expenses can be claimed on your personal income taxes. What type of screening requirements are needed before I can start my IVF cycle? Pre-IVF screening requirements. Does the clinic accept single or same sex female couples for IVF treatment? Yes, a referral from your family physician is required. Is there an age cutoff for IVF treatment? Yes, the clinic will accept referrals for single women or couples up to the age of 45 in the female partner. This guideline also applies for third party reproduction programs. How many eggs can I expect to get? The number of eggs retrieved is related to your age and FSH values. Generally, the younger the female partner and the lower the day 3 FSH value the greater the likelihood of retrieving more eggs. The average number of eggs retrieved in a good prognosis patient is 16. Older patients and/or women with increased FSH levels can expect a lower number of eggs. If over response (called ovarian hyperstimulation) occurs this can be potentially very serious. However, several options exist. These options will be discussed and individualized accordingly. In general, options include continuing with the cycle including embryo transfer and monitoring for ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS); continuing with the cycle and considering a single embryo transfer to decrease the likelihood of severe OHSS; continuing the cycle and freezing all embryos for use in a later frozen embryo transfer; canceling the cycle and restarting at a lower dose of stimulation medication. The clinic recommends having a minimum of four mature follicles on ultrasound prior to proceeding with egg retrieval. Depending on individual circumstances, several options exist including continuing with egg retrieval and embryo transfer despite the low number; converting to superovulation and intrauterine insemination (IUI) if the fallopian tubes are open and adequate sperm count exists; canceling the cycle and restarting another cycle with an alternate protocol. If no alternate protocol exists, egg donation may be considered. What is a day 3 FSH and estradiol level? These are blood tests measuring the level of follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and estrogen on the third day of your period. These blood tests give us an indication of ‘ovarian reserve', in other words, how hard your pituitary gland has to work to stimulate your ovaries to ovulate. These values give us information used to determine what IVF protocol to use; how much medication may be required for stimulation and insight into the potential success rates of IVF. How does the IVF waitlist work? Each couple must pay the IVF registration fee to be considered active on the waitlist. The female partner then is required to contact the clinic on the first day of active bleeding (not spotting) to report ‘day 1' of her cycle. Each week, all patients that have reported their cycles will be considered for treatment. However, to be offered an IVF cycle, couples must have attended the information session and both partners must have completed all screening requirements. The average wait is one to two months for IVF treatment after registration. How much time does treatment require? This will depend on where you live and your proximity to the clinic. During the ovarian suppression (down regulation) phase of treatment there should be minimal disruption to your daily life. An appointment is required for the suppression check. This is performed generally after two weeks of ovarian suppression medications. Once gonadotropin (FSH) injections begin, you are required for morning appointments on the fourth and seventh day of injections. Following that, you may be required for ultrasound and/or blood tests either every second day or as often as daily thereafter depending on your rate of stimulation. It is important to note that depending on your individual stimulation protocol and response, treatment time can be as much as 3 weeks. Based on average of twelve days of stimulation injections, egg retrieval 35 hours following last injection and transfer of day 3 embryos, the entire treatment takes approximately 2 weeks. Following embryo transfer, there is a sixteen-day waiting time for the pregnancy test. Again, depending on individual circumstances, patients may return to work after a few days rest, or choose to take the entire duration off. The clinic recommends minimizing stress and heavy lifting during this time. What are the chances of multiple births? A single, healthy pregnancy is the goal of the clinic. The multiple birth rate is related to the age of the female partner at the time of egg retrieval, number of embryos implanted and the quality of these embryos. The clinic has a 30% twin rate and 3% higher order birth rate. Can I expect to see the same physician at each visit? After you have entered into an active treatment cycle, you may see any of the five physicians during the cycle. All five physicians share the responsibilities for the IVF program. The physicians communicate closely and share treatment philosophies and protocols so the patients can be assured of continuity of care. How long does my partner need to take off work? Although partners are encouraged to attend as many treatment appointments as possible, this is not mandatory. Male partners are required to be in Calgary the evening prior to egg retrieval, the day of egg retrieval and the day following (fertilization check) in order to provide a fresh semen sample if necessary. Partners may leave Calgary once fertilization has been established and all appropriate consents have been completed. What if embryo transfer falls on a weekend or holiday? The clinic is open 7 days a week for the active treatment of IVF patients. The clinic closes for one week over the Christmas period. How do the Regional Fertility Program success rates compare to the rest of Canada? The Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society (CFAS), collects statistics voluntarily from participating clinics. Our success rate graphs are contrasted against these national averages. IVF/ICSI success rates
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