Infertility Treatments in Iran
Fertility TreatmentHaving a baby is a sweet feeling that lots of couples all over the world wish to experience. However, some couples do not find it easy to have babies due to some physical and genetic problems that one or both of them may have.
Detecting and curing the fertility problem can be time-consuming and costly. Even more, the process is not available in all countries; therefore, couples with fertility problems travel to other countries to receive the treatment most effectively at an affordable price. Iran is one of the countries that is considered a desirable destination for seeking fertility services.
Why Fertility Services and Infertility Treatments in Iran?
Iran is considered a great destination for medical tourism and particularly for fertility problems. In contrast, Iranian couples with infertility had to go abroad to receive the most effective treatment services to experience having a baby last decades. Thanks to progress in infertility treatments in Iran, many patients worldwide travel to Iran to receive helpful treatments.
The top specialized infertility centres and clinics enjoy the well-experienced staff and provide high-quality services with the most reasonable prices for treatment procedures in Iran. Besides a low-cost trip, Iran is also regarded as what distinguishes it as a leading country in terms of fertility treatment services.
Why Fertility Services and Infertility Treatments in Yazd?
Yazd benefits from some institutions with an internationally high reputation in fertility treatments and receives many Iranian and international couples seeking infertility treatments each year.
As the first Iranian infertility treatment centre, Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute (YRSI) uses the latest achievements. It provides innovative facilities, making it a prominent centre for thousands of patients receiving treatment procedures.
In addition to being a medical centre, it is considered an academic pivot for infertility as it provides the possibility of education and research on different fields of reproduction and genetics, carrying out many projects annually that help develops infertility sciences universally.
Causes of Male Infertility
There are many different causes of infertility, which may suffer numerous couples. So, men and women who want to perform fertility treatment in Iran should visit a doctor. In the following, we mention some of the leading causes of male infertility:
- Varicocele: varicocele refers to the enlargement of veins in the testicles, which leads to the reduction of sperm production;
- Infection: some infections lead to low sperm count, motility, and quality. These infectious diseases include prostate infection, epididymitis, AIDS, and gonorrhea.
- Retrograde ejaculation: It occurs when semen flows to the bladder instead of leaving the body during the orgasm. The reasons for retrograde ejaculation include diabetes, spinal cord injuries, bladder surgery, and prostatitis.
- Immunological infertility: In this disease, the man’s immune cells mistakenly attack the sperm and reduce their number. The exact cause of this disease is not known yet.
- Cancer: malignant and benign tumours can reduce sperm count by blocking hormonal pathways and damaging the hormone-producing glands. Radiation therapy and chemotherapy can also reduce male fertility.
- Blockage of vas deferens: in some men, the vas deferens get blocked due to infection, inflammation, or development of fibrocytes. In such cases, the vas deferens cannot transfer the sperm to the semen, and the ejaculation will be sperm-free.
- Genetic diseases: some inherited conditions, such as Klinefelter syndrome, Kallmann syndrome, and Noonan syndrome, can lead to abnormal development of the male reproductive system, resulting in damage to sperm-producing processes.
- Being exposed to chemicals and heat: the sperm will perish at 40° C or when exposed to chemicals such as insecticides.
- Having an unhealthy lifestyle: smoking cigarettes, opium, cocaine, marijuana, and other drugs, as well as drinking alcohol, can reduce sperm production and cause infertility.
Male Infertility Treatments
The fertility treatments that you will receive in Iran for male infertility include:
- Surgical treatment
- Sexual intercourse treatment
- Hormone therapy
- Assisted reproductive technology (ART)
Causes of Female Infertility
There may be some problems that keep a female partner from getting pregnant, which include:
- Damaged Fallopian Tubes: The eggs produced in the ovary move toward the fallopian tubes to meet sperm and fertilize. Then, the fertilized egg moves down to the uterus to implant. Pelvic infections, endometriosis, and pelvic surgery can cause fallopian tubes to get damaged and blocked, preventing sperm from reaching an egg in the tube.
- Hormonal imbalance: It refers to a condition in which you cannot get pregnant since the body does not undergo regular hormonal changes that cause the egg to be released from the ovary and thicken the uterus lining.
- Cervix problems: Sometimes, there is a condition that sperm is prevented from passing through the cervical canal.
- Uterine Problems: The presence of polyps and fibroids can interfere with getting pregnant. Uterine polyps are growths attached inside the uterus wall (endometrium). There are other abnormalities related to the uterus that can interfere with pregnancy.
- Unexplained infertility: In some cases, the exact cause of the fertility problem remains unknown even after an infertility work-up.
How Is Female Infertility Treated?
- Laparoscopy
- Hysteroscopy
- Medication
- Intrauterine insemination (IUI)
- In vitro fertilization (IVF)
- intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
Options for Fertility Treatment in Iran
There are a variety of methods and procedures that infertile women seeking fertility treatment in Iran can go under based on their doctor’s opinion depending on their condition:
Surgery
Surgery can help treat genetic defects, open blocked fallopian tubes, remove fibroids, remove endometriosis tissue, and treat PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome).
Two standard surgical procedures_ laparoscopy and laparotomy_ can fix gynecological problems.
In laparoscopy, thin instruments, including a lighted camera, will be inserted into your body through some small cut in the abdomen.
In laparotomy, the abdominal incision is larger than the one in laparoscopy.
Success rates
The medical condition and the kind of surgery used to treat the problem are essential to surgery success.
- There is a chance of about 40% for women with minimal or mild endometriosis. They can get pregnant by 8 – 9 months after laparoscopic treatment;
- The women whose fallopian tubes are opened will have a chance of 21- 59% of conceiving;
- There is a chance of about 50% for women with PCOS who have ovarian drilling surgery to become pregnant within one year.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
The IUI treatment involves placing partner or donor sperm directly in a woman’s uterus by passing a catheter through the cervix. We should note that women are prescribed to use fertility drugs before the procedure, which probably increases the risk of having twins or more.
Intrauterine insemination can also effectively treat cervical conditions, ejaculation dysfunction, and unexplained infertility.
Success rates
For couples with unexplained infertility, the chance of conceiving is 7 – 16 % in every stimulated IUI cycle.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
The intracytoplasmic sperm injection procedure is a technique for treating male infertility, often added to an IVF treatment. During ICSI, a single sperm cell is injected directly into the cytoplasm of an egg. Then, the doctor will put the fertilized egg back into the uterus.
It should be noted that the man’s sperm is probably needed to be obtained from the testicle with a surgical biopsy or a microscopic needle. Although the process is less painful than expected, the man has to avoid strenuous physical activities for 5 – 10 days.
Success rates
This procedure will successfully fertilize 50 – 80% of eggs. Couples who use ICSI have the chance of being parents just like those who have used IVF.
- 40% for women aged 34 and under;
- 31% for women aged 35 to 37;
- 21% for women aged 38 to 40;
- 11% for women aged 41 to 42;
- 5% for women aged 43 and over.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
In Vitro Fertilization is one of the common fertility treatments in Iran through which an egg and a sperm are combined under laboratory conditions. In this technique, the ovaries removed eggs mixed with the partner or donor sperm in a dish. On day 5, a doctor will transfer the resulting embryo to the uterus so the embryonic development process continues naturally.
Doctors put one or more egg cells in the uterus after some cell division phases. In this method, after inducing ovulation in women, the process of receiving the ovum is performed. The ova will develop in the lab and, after being matured, are fertilized by sperm.
Then, the doctors evaluate the quality of egg cells and put one or more embryos in the mother’s uterus. In this fertility treatment option, if more than one embryo is transferred, the risk of having twins or more is about 9 – 29%.
Success rates
Here are the live-birth rates of IVF cycles in recent years:
- 40% for women aged 34 and under;
- 31% for women aged 35 to 37;
- 21% for women aged 38 to 40;
- 11% for women aged 41 to 42;
- 5% for women aged 43 and over.
Donor Eggs and Embryos
In this procedure, an egg donated by another woman is mixed with the sperm of your partner by using the IVF technique. Then, the embryos or fertilized eggs will transfer to your uterus. Your doctor prescribes you some medications to prepare your uterine lining for pregnancy. It is important to note that if multiple embryos are transferred, the risk of having twins or more will increase.
Success rates
The chances of getting pregnant by using donated eggs are as follow:
- By using fresh donor eggs, chances are around 50%
- By using a frozen embryo from a previous donor egg cycle, chances are about 38%
- By embryos created from frozen donor eggs, chances are about 43%
- With frozen donor embryos, chances are about 37%
Other Methods of Infertility Treatment in Iran
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) Method
In addition, to receive fertility treatment in Iran, the couples can also benefit from fetal sex determination, done by preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), using FISH or PCR techniques. This method's success rate for choosing the desired gender is 95%. In PGD, eggs are removed after ovarian stimulation and fertilized in a laboratory using the microinjection method.
Using PGD, the couple has to undergo a routine IVF procedure so that several embryos can be tested when they are three days old. After fertilization, the embryo will grow to eight cells. Typically, one or two cells are removed by biopsy and are tested by FISH or PCR techniques to determine the embryo's gender. Finally, the embryos with the desirable gender by the couple will be transferred into a woman's uterus.
Surrogacy
Surrogacy, also called gestational surrogacy, is an assisted reproductive method in which an infertile couple's zygote (fertilized egg) is transferred to the womb of a third person (surrogate mother) who will carry the child for nine months. Usually, this method is used when the biological mother doesn't have a uterus, has a life-threatening disease, or has a history of multiple miscarriages.
Success rates
Today, the average success rate of surrogacy has reached 75%. Of course, the success rate of this method depends on many factors, including the facilities of the clinic where the operation is performed, the physiological and psychological condition of the surrogate mother, the age and health condition of the biological mother and father, the method of fertilization, quality of egg and sperms, etc.
Egg Freezing
Egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation refers to removing eggs from ovaries and storing them in liquid nitrogen for future pregnancies. After 35, the ovarian reserve and the quality of the eggs reduce, so many women freeze eggs to be fertilized. They may use frozen eggs and transfer them into their uterus in the future. For freezing eggs, the patient should first take ovulation induction drugs to produce more eggs in each menstrual cycle.
Then, with the help of transvaginal ultrasound and a narrow needle, mature follicles are removed from the ovaries and frozen at -196 degrees. After egg freezing, if the couple decides to become pregnant, the egg is defrosted; then, it gets fertilized with sperm using the ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) technique.
Pregnancy with Donated Sperm
In this method, first, a semen sample is provided by a man other than the husband, and then, the healthy and motile sperm are washed and injected into the mother’s uterus during an IUI procedure. Also, in some cases, the egg and the donated sperm are fertilized through IVF; then, the resulting embryo is transferred to the mother’s uterus.
In general, donated sperms are used when the male partner has low-quality sperms, azoospermia, chromosomal disorder, or inherited incurable disease.
Success rates
If the female partner is under 35 and has no fertility problem, the pregnancy success rate with donated sperm is between 60 to 80 percent.
Sperm Freezing
Sperm freezing is a suitable treatment for male infertility, in which the healthy and motile sperms are separated and frozen in liquid nitrogen. In men over 45, the quality of sperm is low, and the male partner may transmit genetic mutations that can lead to congenital disabilities. Also, men with cancer, dangerous jobs (like jobs in the military), and a family history of infertility should use this technique to preserve their fertility. Therefore, freezing sperm is a useful option for men who intend to have children in the future.
For freezing sperm, first, the person should take a blood test to determine if he has infectious diseases such as HIV and hepatitis. Then, he should provide a semen sample through masturbation and take it to the laboratory. In the lab, the sperm sample is washed and mixed with a special liquid (cryoprotection) and gets frozen in nitrogen tanks. Men who freeze their sperm should use assisted reproductive technologies such as IVF, IUI, or ICSI to have children.
Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)
The frozen embryo is a relatively new method of ART that has reduced the infertility rate to a great extent. In this method, doctors first fertilize the couple's sperm and egg in the laboratory through the IVF procedure. Then, the resulting embryo gets frozen in liquid nitrogen at -196 degrees to implant in the mother's uterus at an appropriate time.
During frozen embryo transfer, the embryo(s) gets defrosted and is transferred to the uterus with the help of ultrasound and a special tube called a catheter. It is worth mentioning that for women above 35, two embryos are transferred to increase the chance of pregnancy. Since FET is an outpatient operation, the mother is discharged on the same day and can continue her daily activities 36 hours after the transfer.
Fertility Treatment Clinics in Iran
As a leading country in the Middle East in infertility treatments, Iran has about 100 infertility centres and clinics in different cities such as Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Tabriz, Shiraz, etc.
One of Iran's most significant infertility treatment centres is Yazd Reproductive Sciences Institute (YRSI), which attracts numerous couples from different countries. The centre offers various infertility treatment techniques such as IVF, IMSI, IVM, IUI, TESE, ICSI, ovulation induction, sperm donation, egg donation, embryo donation, surrogacy, etc.
Fertility Treatment Cost in Iran
Due to the sanctions against Iran, the value of Iran's currency has decreased sharply. In addition to the cost of treatment, this sharp decrease has made everyday living expenses such as accommodation, food, transfer fees, etc. More affordable for couples to decide to receive infertility treatment services in Iran.
Contact us if you need to learn more about the exact costs in Iran and our treatment packages.
Contact us for a free initial consultation about infertility treatments in Iran
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Choosing Iran as a destination for infertility treatment
By choosing to perform fertility treatment in Iran, the desire to be parents will no longer be unattainable. As you may know, Iran is taking advantage of well-equipped hospitals and clinics with a global reputation and is one of the most advanced countries in infertility treatment.
Considering the high percentage of satisfaction of international patients with fertility problems who have used Iran's fertility treatment services, we can conclude that the high reputation of infertility treatment centres in Iran is due to all these successful results.
Before starting your fertility treatment in Iran, your selected physicians will review all your medical conditions and guide you on the exact treatment process you may need to receive.
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