Egg Collection in IVF Treatment

Egg collection is one of the stages of IVF treatment. Before starting the treatment, the mother is given medication to stimulate the ovaries. After the eggs reach the desired state, an egg cracking needle is applied to the mother.

If sufficient eggs of the desired size are developed in the in vitro fertilization treatment, the egg collection phase begins.

When is egg collection performed?

In IVF treatment, after the eggs are created, a trigger shot (HCG shot, pregnyl, ovitrelle) is applied to mature the eggs. After the trigger shot, egg collection is started 32-36 hours later. For this reason, egg collection is not adjusted according to the menstrual day.

The day on which the egg collection phase will begin is related to the number of days it will take for the eggs (follicles) to develop. Eggs develop in approximately 12-15 days. For this reason, egg development treatment usually begins on the 3rd day of the menstrual period. For this reason, the egg collection phase is also applied between the 15th and 20th days of the menstrual period.

How is egg collection performed?

The egg collection process, which takes place on the gynecological examination table, is performed in the same way as vaginal ultrasonography. There is only a thin apparatus and needle at the end of the vaginal ultrasound probe that serves as a guide and is used to collect the eggs. Before the egg collection process, the patient is prepared for the egg collection process in a sterile manner. The vagina is cleaned for this purpose. The needle is used to enter the sacs called follicles where the eggs are located and the eggs are collected by suction, i.e. aspiration. The eggs collected by the suction method are examined in the laboratory. In this way, it is examined whether there are eggs in the follicles. If there are no eggs, the inside of the follicle is washed with a special liquid. In this way, it is possible to check again whether there are eggs. The collected eggs are stored in the culture fluid in a device called an incubator by obtaining the appropriate temperature and carbon dioxide levels. The eggs are kept in the incubator for an average of 2-4 hours until the ICSI (microinjection) stage.

The sacs in which the eggs are located are called follicles. These follicles are round black sacs that can be seen on ultrasound. It is not possible to obtain eggs from every follicle. On average, there are 80% eggs. Therefore, the number of eggs collected during the egg collection phase may be less than the number of follicles that appear on ultrasound.

How long does the egg collection process take?

The egg collection process takes approximately half an hour to complete. After the procedure, the mother-to-be rests for 1-2 hours at the center. Afterwards, final checks are made and the mother-to-be is sent home.

Is general anesthesia or local anesthesia applied?

In some centers, local anesthesia is used for egg collection. However, in most centers, the patient is put to sleep with light general anesthesia. This may vary depending on which method the patient wants to choose. When egg collection is performed with general anesthesia, the patient does not feel any pain or ache. With local anesthesia, the patient may feel slight discomfort. However, egg collection is generally a painless procedure and the patient is not uncomfortable. After the egg collection stage, the possibility of general anesthesia is considered and it is recommended that nothing is eaten for 6 hours before coming to the hospital.

Will I experience pain, bleeding or other problems?

After the egg collection phase, the patient may feel a slight pain. For this reason, mild painkillers may be recommended to the expectant mother. Very light vaginal bleeding may occur and may stop on its own the same day without the need for treatment.

However, although it is rare, bleeding can be relatively heavy. In such a case, the doctor may apply a tampon. This will stop the bleeding.

What are the risks of egg collection?

Complications may rarely occur. These complications include:

• Bleeding in the ovary,

• Vaginal bleeding,

• Effects such as pelvic infection.

Preparation of sperms:

On the day the eggs are collected, a sperm sample is taken from the male candidate. The sperm is prepared in the laboratory. The sperm is washed. For male patients who cannot provide sperm, it is possible to collect sperm with the TESE technique.

The fertilization process is started with the obtained sperm and collected eggs.

Will the egg collection process hurt?

If the egg collection phase is done without anesthesia, the woman will be very hurt. In the early days of IVF treatment, there was no technology available to anesthetize the mother-to-be. For this reason, the mother-to-be would be very hurt. However, today, thanks to local or general anesthesia methods, mothers will not be hurt at all during the egg collection phase.