How do we deal with repeated IVF failures?

Dr. Khaldoun Al Sharif
Infertility and IVF Consultant
Director of the Fertility Center / Jordan Hospital

Although only four decades have passed since the birth of the world’s first IVF baby (Louise Brune), the treatment has spread widely throughout the world. Approximately 10% of newborns in some European countries, such as Denmark, are currently conceived through IVF, and there are now more than eight million people worldwide who have been born through this treatment.

With the continued use of this treatment, increasing medical expertise and modern technology combine to increase the success rate of IVF. However, there is a group of couples who undergo IVF treatment multiple times (up to 30 attempts in some cases) without success, and with no clear reason for the repeated failure. All they are told is to try again!

So what is the solution? The solution has recently emerged in a new scientific approach that systematically addresses the repeated cases of failed embryo implantation in IVF. It carefully examines all the steps and changes that the embryo and mother’s uterus undergo before pregnancy occurs, and attempts to identify the cause(s) of previous failure and avoid them.

These causes may be due to the embryo developing in the laboratory due to an unsuitable environment or nutrition, or they may be due to the presence of polyps or adhesions in the uterine cavity, or they may be due to an increase in blood clotting in the mother, which leads to a decrease in blood flow to the uterus.

Sometimes the cause is the presence of ascites (fluid) inside the fallopian tube that expels the embryos from the uterus.

However, the hope for success has become high in such cases because most of these causes can be detected through preliminary tests and can also be treated with simple methods. Thus, the chances of IVF success are increased for this group of couples who had almost lost hope. As the old saying goes: “When the cause is known, the wonder is gone.”

At the Jordan Hospital Fertility Center, we have the latest medical and laboratory expertise and advanced global technology to treat such cases. In fact, we have published advanced research in international medical journals several years ago on how to successfully manage recurrent failure, God willing.