Today assisted fertilization is performed frequently because offspring are sought in advanced age. The human being is made to conceive the first child at 16 for the woman and at 18 for the man. Unfortunately, in Western countries the search for offspring is very advanced with age and generally exceeds 30 years – explains Dr. Giorgio Del Noce, urologist andrologist and sexologist specialized in assisted fertilization. There is the mistaken belief that we are always young, which unfortunately is not for fertilization. Three levels of assisted fertilization
«The techniques of fertilization allow us to overcome the obstacles that can arise in the problems that exist in infertile couples and they are basically of three types. A first level in which the semen is placed directly in the uterus, this level is called intrauterine insemination but offers a minor advantage compared to the other types in vitro », continues Dr. Del Noce. IVF fertilization
«The types of in vitro assisted fertilization are basically two: IVF and ICSI. The first is a fertilization in which the egg is placed in contact with the spermatozoa. Indeed, it would be more correct to say ‘eggs’ since the gynecologist will provoke an ovarian stimulus so that the woman can have multiple ovulation. Then the eggs, in the operating room, will be aspirated transvaginally and delivered to the biologist. Usually 3.5-6.7 eggs are produced which the biologist places in contact with the semen that the partner offers with a masturbation. In this case the in vitro fertilization of the eggs is obtained and embryos will be formed which then after two or three days are placed in the uterus hoping for an embryo implantation ». ICSI fertilization for those with few spermatozoa
«As far as ICSI is concerned, it is an intervention that is even more sophisticated since the biologist takes a sperm from each egg and injects it into the egg. This allows us to have fertilization when the patient, for example the male, has very few spermatozoa. I have a case of a patient who managed to have a child by finding only one sperm in the testicle – because in some cases I go to retrieve them in the testicle – and the woman a soil egg. The spermatozoa are recovered from the testicle when the patient is azoospermic, that is, he has no spermatozoa in the seminal fluid. There are many causes of this condition and in a small percentage of cases spermatozoa are found in the testicle.Success rates vary according to age
«Assisted reproduction works very well at a younger age, less well at an older age. Unfortunately, at the age of 44 there is a success rate of assisted fertilization that reaches 1.5%. At 45, very few cases succeed, at 46 few cases are reported all over the world, always using the semen of the homologous partner », concludes Dr. Giorgio Del Noce.
