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Egg Retrieval
To have sufficient eggs for the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process, a woman must sometimes be stimulated with injected medications to develop multiple eggs. The injections are most often conducted by the woman or her husband.
The eggs develop in structures in the ovaries called follicles. When a woman's follicles mature, the egg aspiration, or retrieval, procedure is performed. A needle is passed through the top of the vagina under ultrasound guidance to the ovary and follicles. The aspiration, or retrieval, takes approximately 2-8 minutes, and women are given narcotics so that they will remain comfortable throughout the procedure.
The eggs are collected and given to the in vitro fertilization (IVF) laboratory staff. The eggs are scrutinized under a microscope, and combined with sperm approximately 4 hours following retrieval. The following morning, the eggs are checked for evidence of fertilization. Embryos remain in the laboratory's incubators for 1 to 5 days. Once cultured, the embryos are placed into the woman's uterus via an embryo transfer procedure.
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