IVF in Turkey: The Road Trip within the Infertility Journey

If you are having difficulty conceiving, you are in this with over 48 million couples and 186 million individuals at this moment.

Infertility has become a huge global health concern, but doing IVF in Turkey increases your success rate. If you are having difficulty conceiving, you are in this with over 48 million couples and 186 million individuals at this moment, as per the Lancet Global Health Journal; and in it with 10-15% of the entire world per year. Most of these people have waited for relational and economic stability before having children, and the other individuals are affected by male- and female-specific infertility factors. However, medicine is progressing daily in identifying ways to help maintain and preserve fertility, and to promote prevention, early detection, and treatment of conditions that threaten it. 

With these rising statistics of infertility in men and women, affecting their desire to build a family, the inspirational quotes and the thousands of blog posts are full of positive energy and hope that can build the expectations of infertile couples beyond the extremely intimate and personal obstacles to infertility treatment on the physical, emotional, and social levels. With these challenges ranging from the millennia-old social stigma surrounding the concept of IVF treatment, to the depression, anxiety, and distress caused by the psychological load of the contemporary process of assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs); and the stories of the TTC Community (trying to conceive) are no less epic than those of ancient warriors. 

One of the most sought after ARTs is IVF in Turkey; because of the once-high IVF cost around the world, medical tourism presents a creative option: an IVF pregnancy combined with a great vacation, offering couples the best IVF success rate and IVF cost!

Take the IVF in Turkey roadtrip in your journey for a complete family with Tour for Cure experts

Infertility treatment is not just for older couples

Contrary to the stigma around the process of IVF treatment, it’s not just for the older couples. And to understand the reason this is true, let’s have a relevant anatomy and physiology crash course, and then you will know who needs IVF in Turkey.

For the fertilization to happen, a part of the brain, called the hypothalamus, has to secrete hormones to stimulate the pituitary gland, called gonadotropin-releasing hormones, to release the gland’s hormones, the gonadotropins, which allow the female gonads, the ovaries, to secrete the hormones that allow maturity of the oocytes and release an egg through the process of ovulation. This cycle ensures the readiness of an oocyte to be fertilized through this hormonal axis, known as the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian (HPO) axis. 

A great number of conditions can lead to disruption of the physiological HPO axis, its equivalent in males, the HPT axis, the structures of the male and female genital systems, and/or a multitude of the effect of combinations between these two on relevant factors that affect the passage of the sperms to reach the egg or that of the egg after fertilization and before implantation.

The fertility consultation for IVF in Turkey aims to determine the cause of infertility in couples and plan the course of action needed to correct it in a team approach, comprising the couple, OB/GYN Specialists, Andrologists, Surgeons, Radiologists, and an army of Nurses and Technicians—all with the single aim of making the dream of a family a reality through the best IVF Clinics in Turkey!

The most studied ART is in-vitro fertilization (IVF)

The IVF treatment for infertility is an Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) that aims to fertilize the female’s egg with the male’s sperm in a laboratory setting, ignoring some of the physiological steps described above and any of the issues affecting their structure or function, which increases the IVF success rate by increasing the probabilities of fertilization where medication protocols are not a treatment line or not one that suffices to treat the infertility cause.  

The female body usually produces one egg per menstrual cycle; but IVF success rate depends on the development of multiple eggs to choose from the best one to implant in the uterus. The first of the 5 stages of IVF in Turkey, known as an IVF cycle, is the controlled ovarian hyperstimulation, in which the action of the HPO axis is enhanced and amplified by injecting gonadotropins, which ensures the readiness of multiple oocytes for fertilization and quality assurance. This is typically done after suppressing the natural cycle and manually overriding it with the injectables to correct any cycle abnormalities that may hinder IVF success. The number of injections depends on the specific course of treatment and cycle; but it may be up to 90 shots per cycle, with a 1-2 shots per day frequency.

After that, an OB/GYN surgery specialist performs a procedure called the transvaginal, ultrasonography-guided needle aspiration and oocyte retrieval, in which they retrieve the fully mature oocytes with maximum precision using a safe technique under general anesthesia, so that your IVF process is not painful. Then, these retrieved oocytes are transferred to special media to allow the sperms to be added to them, starting their insemination. At this point of the procedure, if the couple desires a higher IVF success rate or the male sperm is abnormal, a procedure called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is performed (see below).

Once fertilization is expected to have happened, the specialist assesses and grades the embryo(s) for quality and development. This is the step where the physician may use genetic tests to screen for and detect probable disorders (PGT; see below). Once an embryo is old enough to be implanted, the specialist will transfer it to the uterus of the mother to be implanted there via a small tube, a catheter, that goes through the vagina and into the uterus. This is followed by a pregnancy test and an ultrasound to confirm the success of the procedure after approximately two weeks. 

The stages of IVF in Turkey last for about two months. But the embryos of good quality not used in a cycle can be kept for later use  in subsequent cycles via cryopreservation (see below). Women younger than 35 years will get pregnant and have an IVF baby with their first IVF egg retrieval and consequent embryo transfer(s) about half the time.

Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) is not usually a prerequisite to IVF treatment

Intrauterine Insemination is another form of ARTs in which the sperm-containing semen is collected from the male and instilled in a fertile female uterus artificially. This technique is used sometimes as a line of treatment preceding the IVF process to avoid vaginal and cervical responses if they are suspected to be killing sperms. 

A recent review in the Journal of the American Medical Association outlined that the overall IUI success rate combined with other adjuvants is about 12% per attempt, decreasing with each attempt. This low rate is because of IUI’s dependence on relatively good health and count of the male sperms, and on the general health and quality of the female eggs. 

However, because of the cheap, non-invasive approach of IUI, 3-4 attempts are recommended before resorting to IVF treatment, but only when the male sperms are adequate and of acceptable quality to fertilize the egg once they reach it.

ICSI is the solution when infertility is sperm-dependent

Thirty percent of the time with infertility, the male sperms are not motile enough to survive the journey to the egg (asthenospermia), not adequate to reach a good concentration around the egg when they reach it (oligospermia), or many of them are so abnormal in form that they fail in fertilizing the egg when they reach it (teratospermia). 

ICSI is a procedure that surpasses all these challenges by selecting a single healthy spermatozoon from the millions collected from the male, and inserting it directly into the egg. ICSI is the ultimate weapon for couples desiring fertility, with IVF success rates skyrocketing when combined with ICSI. 

Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT) is the stuff of legend

PGT is another upgrade of the traditional IVF process, which intends to detect the known hereditary disorders, and its results are used to select the healthiest embryo to be implanted in the mother’s uterus.

Nowadays, PGT is highly selective for disorders of chromosomes, e.g. using the PGT-A assay for Aneuploidy, which tests for the disorders in which the total chromosome numbers are not equal to the normal, like Down or Turner Syndromes. However, more recent developments allows us to also test for more precise genetic disorders, the Mendelian Disorders, using the PGT-M, which tests for abnormal single gene mutations that could produce a disease that could run in families, like Sickle Cell Anemia and Hemophilia. 

Even more, PGT may appeal to a lot of couples as it involves them more in their embryo’s selection, allowing them to have some input on deciding which embryos to transfer to the mother’s uterus. PGT is also likely beneficial for advanced maternal age, repeated IVF failures, recurrent pregnancy loss, and unexplained infertility; as these share a factor of the embryo’s health as a factor for a successful IVF pregnancy.

Cryopreservation may be the answer to the wait for economic stability

More than one IVF cycle could be needed to ensure a high IVF success rate, because of various factors related to the mother’s uterus and the IVF pregnancy stability. This could put older mothers in danger of a complication of IVF, the ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which is an exaggerated response to the hormone stimulation used in the first stage of IVF. 

Over the past years, cryopreservation, a technique that uses vitrification to freeze the embryos for later use, without affecting their health, has been gaining wide implementation through routine IVF procedures. It allows multiple cycles of IVF to be performed without subjecting the mother to many rounds of hormonal stimulation. Thus, reducing the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome to zero!

The other indications for cryopreservation may hold benefits for both the mother and the embryo. The most common of them is Social Freezing, which is a term referring to the couple freezing their embryos until they are in a socio-economically stable status that allows for the kids to grow in the comfort of a home ready to accept them. Further, using frozen-thawed embryos in subsequent IVF cycles has been associated with improved IVF pregnancy rates and obstetric outcomes compared to re-initiating the process with each cycle.

The disadvantages of IVF are a significant cause of stress

Seeking an IVF pregnancy can be a last resort for many people, but you have to be aware of IVF complications and IVF potential side effects before making your final decision. The most dangerous of the IVF pregnancy risks is the Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS), a potentially life-threatening complication of the first stage of IVF. Its mild form may only cause abdominal distension, nausea, and vomiting; but more severe cases can develop severe abdominal pain and lung function reduction. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates the incidence of severe OHSS to be 0.2 to 1% of all stimulation cycles.

Other potential side effects of the IVF treatment that some may consider to be IVF babies’ disadvantages are the high potential to conceive twins or triplets, with the increased health risk that comes with multiple gestations: the mother developing gestational hypertensive disease, or the baby/babies being born preterm because of various factors. There are no known long-term side effects of IVF treatment, but some researchers debate the potential of developing ovarian tumors if the mother experiences OHSS in the course of IVF.

Combating the stress associated with IVF

IVF is a long and dire road trip that you have to take on your journey for fertility; but, if you go through with it till the end, thanks to the miracles of modern medicine, you will most likely live your dream. The stress associated with IVF is real: it drains many couples and deters them from completing the process and it is proven to reduce conception rates by itself! 

So, our message to you is that dealing with the stress of infertility and its treatment is even more essential than treatment itself. And we have compiled below the three best practices to deal with IVF and infertility stress from around the world, from medical research and personal experiences.

Immediate and Thorough Investigation, Into Both Partners

The first step before initiating any treatment for infertility is to reach a diagnosis of what is causing it. Ten percent of infertile couples have no known cause for the infertility, but that is a diagnosis in itself with its lines of treatment. Do not seek any commercial solutions to “all types of infertility;” but speak with a physician and ask them about your specific factors as a couple.

Early Subspecialist Care

Medical treatment and following with your OB/GYN or GP are the first line of treatment for many of the causes of infertility, but it should not prolong the waiting time before seeking care of a professional fertility subspecialist, as the subspecialist is more updated on the state of science in fertility and have dealt with hundreds, if not thousands of couples who are trying to conceive. Fertility subspecialists are also equipped to handle the risks of time and those of treatment, and are trained to tailor a plan that is very specific to your case and expectations.

Support, Support, Support!

Having a strong support network from your close social contacts not only gives you a backbone to lean on when it all seems dark, but it also provides you with the emotional support you need to face your intimate challenges and thoughts that may affect the conception rates over the long run. It is recommended that you talk with your close social contacts about your case and the process you have to go through, give them updates on the progress, and ask them for their inputs and takes on things; because even if they are not going through the process with you, their empathy and understanding will be your vehicle to your dreams.

Is Turkey good for IVF?

IVF in Turkey is the best option for infertility treatment. The cost of IVF in Turkey ranges from $2500-$4000, meaning that for such a low price, you can enjoy the nature and touristic attractions in Istanbul that will definitely ease your stress about the process and, because of the extreme professionalism and experience Tour for Cure specialists operate with, you can finish an IVF cycle in a trip as short as 15 days with our IVF package. Along with that, the advances in medicine in Turkey allow you to use PGT services to choose your baby’s gender, screen them for diseases, and get all the benefits of the latest developments in IVF techniques.

Call Tour for Cure for a professional fertility consultation for the best IVF in Turkey!

This article addresses some misconceptions about IVF in Turkey for infertility treatment and is in no way a substitute for a professional fertility or gynecology consultation.