Treatment for childlessness

This method is mainly used when the partner has too few or insufficient motile sperm. Then the sperm cells are transferred directly into the woman's uterus. The success rate is about 5 to 10 percent per attempt. After several attempts, pregnancy occurs in about 10 to 30 percent of cases.

After hormone treatment, eggs are removed from the woman's ovary. In the test tube, the eggs are mixed with the man's sperm. If fertilization occurs and the fertilized eggs continue to develop, an embryo is transferred to the uterus. Since the embryo does not always implant in the uterus, two to three embryos are often transferred. This procedure results in multiple births in about 20 percent of IVF treatments. The success rate is about 25 to 30 percent, and the live birth rate is 15 to 20 percent.

The ICSI method is a special form of IVF treatment. It is used when fertilization of the egg does not occur due to sperm quality during sperm transfer or IVF treatment. For this purpose, eggs are retrieved from the woman after hormone treatment. Then a single sperm cell is injected directly into the egg. If normal cell division takes place after fertilization, up to three embryos are transferred into the woman's uterus.

If there are no sperm cells in the man's seminal fluid, the so-called Testicular Sperm Extraction (TESE) and Microsurgical Epididymal Sperm Aspiration (MESA) are used. With surgical intervention, sperm can be obtained directly from the testicles (TESE) or epididymis (MESA) in some cases. Subsequent artificial insemination is performed using the ICSI method.

This procedure is a hybrid of sperm transfer (insemination) and in vitro fertilization. In GIFT, eggs are removed from the woman in a minor operation. These are combined with the partner's prepared sperm cells and then injected via a catheter into one or both fallopian tubes. Fertilization then occurs naturally. The fertilized egg is supposed to migrate to the uterus and implant there. The success rate is about 20 percent. Because surgery under general anesthesia carries higher risks of complications and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy, intratubal gamete transfer is not often practiced today.

In Germany, reproductive medicine is regulated by the Embryo Protection Act. In addition, the German Medical Association and the Joint Federal Committee of Physicians and Health Insurers have issued guidelines for action. In Germany, the regulations are very strict. The use of foreign oocytes, surrogate motherhood, cloning of embryos, sex selection of sperm (except in cases of serious sex-linked hereditary diseases) and the use of semen from deceased persons are prohibited.