The course of the treatment in the CRG
Medication
Concluding the stimulation phase
Storage of surplus embryos
After the embryo transfer
Back to IVF|ICSI for Overseas Patients
On your first visit to the CRG, you must report to the admissions desk in the entrance hall of the Childrens' Hospital at UZ Brussel (entrance 3).
- Don't forget your passport or identity card: without ID and the provision of an official address, you will not be permitted to register.
- After having registered, please go to the Consultation department of the CRG on the 2nd floor, with your medical notes.
- Here you will be asked to complete a number of administrative formalities and will be informed about patient support in the CRG.
Medication
- If you need medication or medical products (such as syringes) during your treatment, you will be issued with the necessary prescriptions at consultation.
- The medication will be available from the UZ Brussel's Pharmacy and needs to be paid for in advance at the Regsistration's Desk and by credit card.
- If you are staying in Brussels for the duration of the stimulation treatment, you can have the nurses on the ward VPE 03 give you the injections (see the stimulation phase).
Important information |
For administrative reasons, we will only be able to perform the egg collection (pick-up) once the complete treatment invoice has been paid. |
TIP |
The results of HIV and Hepatitis A and B infection tests are of a recent date. If at your arrival in Belgium it appears that either this is not the case or that they are absent, then a blood sample will be taken from both woman and man – on the day of the egg pick-up at the very latest – to allow for infection tests. |
Concluding the stimulation phase
- the stimulation of the ovaries is concluded by the administration of an hCG-injection.
- For reasons of organization, the moment of this injection is always determined in Brussels, by the DM.
- This also applies if the stimulation is performed in your own country. 36 hours elapse between the giving of the injection and the moment of Egg collection. Whether or not the injection may be given before you travel to Brussels will depend on the length of time you need to get here.
- The egg cell collection, the in-vitro fertilization and the embryo transfer form the essential elements of the IVF treatment. It goes without saying that this all takes place at the CRG. Without exception, you will need to be in Brussels for these interventions.
Storage of surplus embryos
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Surplus embryos can be frozen and stored for later use. |
All of the egg cells collected at pick-up are fertilized in the lab. However, not every fertilization successfully results in the development of an embryo. Nevertheless, it is often the case that you will have more embryos than can be replaced at transfer. (only one or two may be legally replaced under Belgian law).
In this case, excess embryos can be frozen and stored for possible use in later treatments, for example, if you do not become pregnant on the first attempt, or if you later decide to come back for a second baby. It may be possible to have the embryos transferred to another lab closer to where you live (see
Transferral of Genetic Material).
However, it is important to know that a good number of embryos will need to be frozen in order for a later transfer with the same material to be possible. Many embryos do not survive the freezing process and this is only apparent once they are thawed.
Various factors will have a say in the decision whether or not to use frozen embryos in a later treatment. Not only will this be the number of embryos which are viable after thawing, but also the distance you covered to follow the IVF treatment in Brussels.
after the embryo transfer
After the embryo transfer, you will be asked to rest in your room on the ward for three hours. After this time has elapsed you are not restricted in any way. You may travel home that same day if you wish. Travel by train, airplane or car have no negative effects on the embryo and its ability to implant in the uterus.
The only thing you must do is continue to take the progesterone (in the form of vaginal pessaries) which you will have started before your egg collection (see
preparation for pregnancy). These support the development of the lining of the womb, in order to facilitate embryo implantation.