Collecting

Collecting your eggs and sperm sample:

We will collect your eggs using a minor procedure typically lasting less than 30 minutes and you’ll be given a mild intravenous sedation, so you don’t feel any pain. On the same morning your male partner will produce a semen sample..

The time of your egg retrieval is dependent on the time of your trigger shot. For instance, if the trigger shot(s) are administered at 10 pm on Monday evening, the egg retrieval will take place at 10 am on Wednesday morning. The type and number of trigger shots required is dependent on the specifics of your personalized treatment plan.

Upon your arrival for the egg retrieval procedure, your care team will accompany you to the surgical center at your fertility clinic. Once there, your nurse will take routine vital signs before initiating an intravenous (IV) drip. You will then meet with the fertility physician to review the details of the egg retrieval process.

You will also meet with the anesthesiologist, who will explain the sedation to be used for the egg retrieval. Once you are ready for the procedure, your nurse will escort you to the surgical suite, where your team will help you lay flat on the procedure table. A mask will be placed on your face to provide oxygen to assist your breathing, and you will undergo sedation. While under sedation, you will be breathing on your own.   Anesthesia will prevent you from feeling or remembering the procedure and will be administered through your intravenous (IV) line.

Once you have fallen asleep under sedation, your physician and care team will proceed to carefully place your legs in stirrups. Prior to the procedure, your physician will clean the pelvic area and vagina to minimize the risk of infection. The ultrasound probe will be inserted into the vagina to confirm the location of the ovaries and their follicles, as well as the bladder, intestines and major blood vessels.

Subsequently, a small gauge will be guided through a channel at the end of the ultrasound probe. The needle will be guided through the vagina and into each individual follicle in each ovary using ultrasound technology. The fluid will be aspirated (extracted) from each follicle with suction and examined under a microscope by the embryology laboratory staff to confirm the presence of an egg.
Once all follicles have been aspirated, your physician will conduct an ultrasound to verify that there is no abnormal bleeding. The entire procedure is typically completed within 20 minutes or less.

Following the egg retrieval procedure, you will be transferred to the post-anesthesia care unit (PACU) or recovery room, where our nursing staff will be on hand to provide care and support.

Once you are fully awake, your physician will discuss with you the results of the egg retrieval and the number of eggs obtained. During recovery, your nurse will closely monitor your oxygen levels, blood pressure, heart rate, and pain level.

Next step: 5. Fertilizing