Mini IVF Questions
1- What's Mini IVF?
Mini IVF is a treatment method with minimal stimulation drugs. It is often a preferred method of treatment for women wanting to use their own eggs but have depleted ovarian reserves. Mini IVF aims to use minimal stimulation to only obtain a couple of good quality eggs for fertilization as opposed to multiple eggs. Since the medication used in this protocol is minimal, the eggs that are retrieved tend to be higher quality, and usually one or two eggs are retrieved and fertilized. However, it should be kept in mind that with age, genetic defects become more prevalent in retrieved eggs, therefore, the likelihood of a miscarriage tends to increase with mini IVF treatments at older ages.
2- Is Mini IVF right for me?
If you are in your 40s, and have depleted ovarian reserves and are not open to consider egg donation as an option, then mini IVF is a way of increasing your chances.
3- What is the difference with Mini IVF and IVF?
In a conventinal IVF procedure, you are likely to be prescribed a higher dose of medication for ovarian stimulation in order to collect multiple eggs. For women under 40, and with an expected hormone profile, this works just fine as they still have the reserves to produce multiple good quality eggs. However, in Mini IVF, minimal stimulation is used to make sure only the higher quality eggs are developed and the quality is not jeopardized with high doses of medication. Especially for women over 40, minimal stimulation targets the better quality eggs and those are the ones that tend to develop.
4- How does Mini IVF work?
Since mini IVF uses minimal stimulation, in most cases, the endometrium is not fully prepared for an embryo transfer, therefore, the eggs are fertilized and then frozen so that they can be used at a future time on a separate cycle when the female patient uses medication to get the endometrium thick enough for a successful transfer, therefore, mini IVF often requires two cycles.
5- What are success rates with Mini IVF?
Since Mini IVF is used for women over 40 years of age, the success rates are not very high, but slightly higher than regular IVF protocols in this age group. There would be a 5-6% difference in success rates compared to conventional IVF.
Mini IVF is a treatment method with minimal stimulation drugs. It is often a preferred method of treatment for women wanting to use their own eggs but have depleted ovarian reserves. Mini IVF aims to use minimal stimulation to only obtain a couple of good quality eggs for fertilization as opposed to multiple eggs. Since the medication used in this protocol is minimal, the eggs that are retrieved tend to be higher quality, and usually one or two eggs are retrieved and fertilized. However, it should be kept in mind that with age, genetic defects become more prevalent in retrieved eggs, therefore, the likelihood of a miscarriage tends to increase with mini IVF treatments at older ages.
2- Is Mini IVF right for me?
If you are in your 40s, and have depleted ovarian reserves and are not open to consider egg donation as an option, then mini IVF is a way of increasing your chances.
3- What is the difference with Mini IVF and IVF?
In a conventinal IVF procedure, you are likely to be prescribed a higher dose of medication for ovarian stimulation in order to collect multiple eggs. For women under 40, and with an expected hormone profile, this works just fine as they still have the reserves to produce multiple good quality eggs. However, in Mini IVF, minimal stimulation is used to make sure only the higher quality eggs are developed and the quality is not jeopardized with high doses of medication. Especially for women over 40, minimal stimulation targets the better quality eggs and those are the ones that tend to develop.
4- How does Mini IVF work?
Since mini IVF uses minimal stimulation, in most cases, the endometrium is not fully prepared for an embryo transfer, therefore, the eggs are fertilized and then frozen so that they can be used at a future time on a separate cycle when the female patient uses medication to get the endometrium thick enough for a successful transfer, therefore, mini IVF often requires two cycles.
5- What are success rates with Mini IVF?
Since Mini IVF is used for women over 40 years of age, the success rates are not very high, but slightly higher than regular IVF protocols in this age group. There would be a 5-6% difference in success rates compared to conventional IVF.
