Preparing for your lab tests
Before beginning a cycle of IVF in Ukraine using your own eggs and sperm or an egg donor eggs and husband's sperm, you and/or your partner will need various screenings, including:
- Ovarian reserve testing. To determine the quantity and quality of your eggs (or egg donor eggs), your doctor might test the concentration of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), estradiol (estrogen) and antimullerian hormone in your blood during the first few days of your menstrual cycle. Test results, often used together with an ultrasound of your ovaries, can help predict how your ovaries will respond to fertility medication.
- Infectious disease screening. You and your partner will both be screened for infectious diseases, including HIV.
- Uterine cavity exam. Your doctor will examine your uterine cavity before you start IVF. This might involve a sonohysterography — in which fluid is injected through the cervix into your uterus — and an ultrasound to create images of your uterine cavity. Or it might include a hysteroscopy — in which a thin, flexible, lighted telescope (hysteroscope) is inserted through your vagina and cervix into your uterus.
- Semen analysis. If not done as part of your initial fertility evaluation, your doctor will conduct a semen analysis shortly before the start of an IVF treatment cycle.
How to prepare for your blood test?
Some blood tests will require you to fast beforehand. In these cases, your doctor will instruct you not to eat or drink anything, except water, in the hours leading up to the test.
Fasting before certain blood tests is important to help make sure that your test results are accurate. The vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, and proteins that make up all food and beverages can impact blood-level readings, clouding the results of your test.
Requirements before your blood test:
- You must fast for at least 8 hours prior to having your blood drawn, unless your doctor tells you otherwise. Fasting means no eating or drinking for at least 8 hours before the test, except water. After your blood is drawn, you may resume your regular diet.
- Drink plenty of water before your blood test. This helps keep your blood pressure from dropping. The leading cause of fainting and dizziness during a blood test is a drop in blood pressure. Avoid coffee or other caffeinated drinks before your test because they actually cause your body to expel water.
How to prepare for your semen analysis?
- It is required to abstain from sexual activity minimum for 3 days, but no more than 7 days.
- Do not use alcohol or drugs to avoid sperm motility decrease.
- It is recommended to abstain from strong black tea, coffee and smoking the day before the test to improve the indicators of the ejaculate.
- Avoid fat, fried food that can reduce total volume of the ejaculate and sperm motility. To improve sperm parameters it is recommended to consume plant foods rich in vitamins and fiber (fruits and vegetables), protein (lean meat, beef, chicken, rabbit), dairy products. Also, to improve the sperm quality it is important to use enough vitamins (especially vitamin C and zinc).
- It is not recommended to attend bath and take a hot shower the day before the sperm test.
It is not recommended to do the semen analysis if you have colds, infections and sexually transmitted diseases, you are taking antibiotics or antidepressants.
Stress, lack of sleep and emotional overload can cause hormonal background disorders of the patient due to the increase of impulsation in the nervous system.
When choosing an in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinic, keep in mind that a clinic's success rate depends on many factors, such as patients' ages and medical issues, as well as the clinic's treatment population and treatment approaches. Our partner clinics success rates are higher than 70% in egg donor cycles and 40-50% in self-cycles.
