Gundersen Lutheran’s Fertility Center offers a full range of assisted reproductive treatments (ART). ARTs can be used for treatment of:
- Moderate to severe male infertility, including low sperm counts, low sperm motility and blocked or missing vas deferens
- Fallopian tube blockage or severe damage, including tubal ligations or those caused by pelvic infections
- Severe pelvic scar tissue which may be caused by endometriosis or infections (including appendicitis)
- Endometriosis, especially when other treatments have failed
- Antisperm antibodies
- Unexplained infertility
In vitro fertilization
The best known assisted reproductive procedure is in vitro fertilization (IVF). Eggs are collected from the woman’s ovaries and sperm is collected from the man. Sperm and eggs are joined together in the lab to form embryos. Typically, two, sometimes three, embryos are transferred to the woman’s uterus to hopefully establish a pregnancy. Extra embryos may be able to be frozen and kept for later use.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) involves injecting a sperm directly into the egg. This procedure helps men who have extremely low sperm counts or extremely low motility of their sperm to be able to father children using their own sperm. ICSI can also help when fertilization of the woman’s eggs does not occur secondary to unknown factors.
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis
Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is used for couples who suffer recurrent pregnancy loss or inability to conceive due to a genetic abnormality. Other problems that can be addressed by PGD are hereditary diseases such as cystic fibrosis or certain muscular dystrophies.
Gamete intrafallopian tube transfer
Another form of ART is the gamete intrafallopian tube transfer procedure (GIFT). The eggs and sperm are collected separately, then are placed together into the woman’s fallopian tube during a laparoscopy. Fertilization is allowed to happen inside the woman’s body. This makes this procedure more acceptable to some religious groups. Patients with unblocked fallopian tubes and problems with endometriosis, unexplained infertility or moderate sperm problems can do well with this procedure.
Egg Donation
For women that cannot use their own eggs to conceive, they might be able to use donor egg IVF, with either a known or anonymous donor. With this treatment option, the egg donor is stimulated to produce eggs that are retrieved and fertilized with the recipient’s partner’s sperm. The resulting embryos are then transferred back into the uterus of the recipient. This option enables the patient to carry a pregnancy even if her eggs can no longer fertilize or develop normally.
Frozen Embryo Donation
For some couples, this option might work if there are issues with sperm, eggs or both. Many former IVF patients end up with frozen embryos that they do not want to use in an attempt to have children. Some of these patients donate their frozen embryos for adoption by another couple. The adopting couple undergo a Frozen Embryo Transfer cycle where the embryos are thawed and transferred into the patient’s uterus with the hope of establishing a pregnancy.
Sperm retrieval
Men who do not ejaculate sperm due to a blocked or missing tube in their reproductive system can have sperm retrieved from their reproductive tract. This can include men with vasectomies or failed vasectomy reversals. It can also include men with congenital absence of the vas deferens (CAVD). Some men who do not ejaculate sperm, even though there is no blockage, may have sperm production happening in small areas of their testicles. These areas can be sought out and sperm can be retrieved.