Stage 6 – Preparing your Embryos

After being collected on your arrival in Cyprus you will visit Cyprus IVF Centre where you will meet your Doctor and your Programme Coordinator, who is from the UK. The donor will be ready to have her eggs collected by the next day or so. On the day of egg collection your partner will be required to provide a semen sample which we will use to help create your embryos. If you are using donor sperm, this procedure will also be done at this time. Three days of sexual abstinence is recommended prior to production of the semen samples.

Fertilisation will be achieved by the ICSI procedure in all cases. In ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into the egg. In this way, the sperm is not required to penetrate any of the barriers surrounding the egg. Once injected, the eggs are incubated for a period of sixteen hours, after which time the embryologist will establish if fertilisation has occurred.

Although ICSI is usually used when sperm quality is low, we have decided that the International Egg donation programme will use ICSI to maximise fertilisation rates.

You will receive a call every day to let you know how many fertilised embryos you have and how they are progressing, as well as letting you know the time to come back to the clinic for your embryo transfer.

You will be guaranteed a minimum of 6 good quality embryos (not eggs). This is a guarantee that is not matched by any other donation centre.
Unlike many other programmes where you are promised eggs, our programme guarantees the number of embryos you are going to receive.