India has made significant advancements in the fields of medicine and technology in the last few decades. IVF (In-vitro Fertilization) treatment has been accepted and adopted as a standard measure for the treatment of infertility, not only in Kolkata, but India. The success of IVF greatly varies and depends on age of the couple, the lifestyle, the cause of infertility, two most important factors – “egg” and “embryo” and lastly the endometrium receptivity.
Originally, IVF was started for tubal factor infertility but now it encompasses a broader regime of other areas of infertility as well, especially male factor infertility.
Now again there is a discrepancy between the rates of success as quoted by IVF clinics. But practically speaking, the success rate varies between 30% -50% and depends on the age of the couple, duration of infertility, associated male factor problems and the number of previous attempts.
However, success can be increased in higher age group more, by using donor oocyte programme.
Previously, multiple eggs multiple embryos were the treatment of choice. But it has been seen that in the development of the IVF and quality of the lab and other aspects of IVF, the focus is now on transferring one or at the most two embryos, because multiple pregnancy imposes a lot of burden on the couple, especially as it is associated with the prematurity and consequent increase in perinatal mortality and morbidity.
So, now single embryo transfer or at the most, two embryo transfer should be the norm in our country.
As the number of IVF cycles increases, the number of failures also rises proportionally. Therefore, it is essential to provide proper counselling to patients after an unsuccessful IVF attempt. In fact, the most common reason patients discontinue IVF treatment is failure in the initial cycle.
Patients who experience IVF failure should be offered thorough counselling, emotional support, and a detailed review of their previous treatment. Reassessing the entire approach allows for personalized adjustments and improvements, thereby increasing the chances of success in subsequent cycles, thus offering a better success rate.
