IVF treatment is a long and tedious procedure that necessitates commitment from the couple and the team of doctors and embryologists. Despite significant advances in the field unfortunately not all couples are expected to conceive.

Outcome of the treatment is directly related to woman’s age and her ovarian reserve. In women who produce an adequate number of eggs and who are < 39 the outlook is bright as pregnancy rates of 80% can be expected after 3 treatment cycles.

That is to say those approximately 80 couples out of 100 will conceive when 3 treatment cycles are undertaken. In women > 39 particularly when the ovarian reserve is diminished, however, the outcome is bleak as pregnancy rates after 3 treatment cycles will be in the range of 10-30%. Since the introduction of ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection-microinjection) approximately 15 years ago there has been no revolutionary breakthrough in IVF treatment.

However, pregnancy rates gradually increased over the years due to refinement of laboratory techniques and stimulation protocols. Couples should be careful prior to initiating treatment in centers offering miraculous treatments and very high pregnancy rates.

American Hospital Assisted Reproduction Unit in Istanbul has been first in Turkey to incorporate into routine practice procedures such as embryo freezing, blastocyst transfer, PGD, assisted hatching, and embryo glue. We have a broad experience in dealing with couples with poor prognosis (age>39, less than optimal quality embryos, and previous multiple failed treatment cycles).