IVF is usually considered if:
- You have absent or blocked fallopian tubes.
- Your partner has severe male infertility. This includes if a man’s sperm count is very low, sperm motility (swimming ability) is poor, or if sperm needs to be extracted surgically from his testicles.
- You’re older. A woman’s fertility reduces significantly as she ages, both egg count and quality is diminished. So if you’re over 35 and you haven’t fallen pregnant naturally or using other fertility methods after trying for 12months, IVF is an option.
- You have another type of infertility (e.g. endometriosis, ovulation disorders, unexplained infertility), and other fertility methods haven’t worked.
- You have a chromosomal abnormality or inherited genetic disease that you want to avoid passing on to your child. If so, IVF is combined with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. This means that the embryos (or in some cases, just the eggs) are tested for the disease, and only those without the disease are transferred to your uterus.
- Your ovaries have failed prematurely so your body isn’t producing any eggs. Donor eggs are required in this case.
- You’re in a same-sex relationship and you want to use donor sperm.
- You’re about to have cancer chemotherapy and you want to preserve eggs or embryos.