FAQ about fertility treatment
We have gathered the most important questions and answers about fertility treatment, so you can easily find what you’re looking for.
IUI (intrauterine insemination) is a simple, gentle fertility treatment performed during your natural menstrual cycle without hormones.
Washed, healthy sperm are introduced into the uterus using a thin catheter, optimizing fertilisation by shortening the sperm’s path to the egg.
IUI is most effective for healthy women with regular cycles and is timed around ovulation for the best chances of success.
You should plan for about 1 hour for the insemination procedure with us. This hour includes an ultrasound scan beforehand and approximately 15 minutes of rest after the insemination.
We perform the insemination treatment in your natural menstrual cycle, so normally will not need hormone treatment
You are welcome to go home right after the treatment. You don’t need much rest after the treatment, so you can drive, fly, or travel home by train.
Before the first treatment, you need to take blood tests for HIV 1 & 2 and Hepatitis B and C. We also recommend a check-up with your gynecologist and a chlamydia test, but it is not a requirement.
Before starting treatment with us, we advise you to monitor your menstrual cycle.
If you have had an infection in the uterus or fallopian tubes, we would recommend that you have your fallopian tubes checked. However, we do not require that you have undergone this check before starting the treatment.
If you already know that your fallopian tubes are blocked, you should instead consider IVF treatment, as insemination treatment will not be successful in that case.
Each treatment process is individual, and we are happy to advise you based on your specific situation.
For example, if you know that your fallopian tubes are blocked, IUI treatment doesn’t make sense. Read more about the different treatment options and what to consider in our blog post on the topic.
Yes. Since we opened the clinic in 2006, we have helped a very large number of single women fulfill their desire to have a child. We are seeing more and more women take matters into their own hands and decide to become solo mothers.
Future solo mothers now make up the largest group of women we treat in our IUI department.
In 2023, around 40% of our new clients were future solo mothers.
No. With insemination treatment (IUI) in your natural cycle, the risk of multiple pregnancies is not increased.
Insemination treatment is carried out as close to your ovulation as possible. So, your main task is to test correctly with an ovulation test to detect your LH surge. We will thoroughly instruct you on this during the consultation.
The ovulation test detects the sharp rise in luteinizing hormone (LH) levels in your urine, which occurs before ovulation. When the ovulation test shows the LH surge, you should come to us for insemination treatment within 24-36 hours.
You will always be able to get an appointment for insemination treatment if you have a positive ovulation test. Just send us an email before 10:00 AM to secure a treatment appointment for the same day. Our last treatment time is at 3:00 PM every day.
We always schedule your treatment the same day as soon as we see your email from 9:00 AM and will then send you a confirmation.
You are also always welcome to call us between 9:00 AM and 10:00 AM to arrange an appointment.
It is important that you start taking ovulation tests 2 days before your expected ovulation. During the consultation, we will discuss your menstrual cycle with you and explain from which cycle day you should start testing.
Feel free to read our detailed explanation of ovulation tests in this blog post.
If you start testing too late, we cannot guarantee that the treatment timing will be optimal.
We recommend testing with Clearblue (the pink variant) or another stick test with two lines, such as Valmed stick tests. Avoid using strip tests.
Clearblue is good for testing with the very first morning urine, and can also be used in the evening if you haven’t used the bathroom for 3-4 hours. Be sure to buy the pink Clearblue tests (‘Determines your 2 most fertile days’).
Other stick tests are usually best suited for use later in the day/evening or for the second morning/afternoon urine. Please check the instructions on the package.
Feel free to read our detailed explanation of ovulation tests in this blog post.
Yes. At Diers Fertility Clinic’s IUI department, we are open 365 days a year. Therefore, you are welcome to come for insemination treatment on weekends or public holidays. You will always be able to get an appointment for treatment.
In Denmark, IUI treatment and other fertility treatments are available for women until their 46th birthday.
The difference lies in the fertilization process. In IVF, thousands of sperm cells are added to the egg(s) in a petri dish in the laboratory, where they must find their way into the egg(s) and fertilise them on their own, whereas with ICSI, a single sperm cell is injected directly into each egg.
The choice depends on your fertility issues, and in some cases, you can choose which treatment method you prefer. Our specialists will guide you to the best treatment option based on your needs.
ICSI is particularly recommended in cases of significantly reduced sperm quality.
If good sperm quality is used, the average pregnancy chance with IVF is almost the same as with ICSI, but if the sperm quality is impaired, the pregnancy chance will be higher with ICSI compared to IVF.
Low AMH levels do not necessarily mean that IVF cannot succeed. AMH levels indicate the number of ovarian follicles per cycle, but not their quality. More eggs increase the chance of finding a high-quality embryo, but in the end, you only need one healthy egg and one healthy sperm cell to become pregnant.
Women with suspected PCOS should undergo an extended hormone test before IVF treatment. In addition to the tests we recommend for all women before IVF, tests to measure androgens (male hormones) and prolactin will be relevant. Furthermore, the ovaries are scanned to check for multiple small follicles, which is characteristic of PCOS.
Vitamin D plays an important role in the body’s hormonal balance and can affect fertility in both men and women.
Our recommendations are:
Regular Sun Exposure: 10-15 minutes in the midday sun, 2-3 times a week during summer, is sufficient.
Eat Vitamin D-Rich Foods: Include fatty fish, eggs, and dairy products in your diet.
Take Vitamin D Supplements: 10-20 μg (400-800 IU) daily, especially during the winter months.
First, you provide the sperm sample in the clinic’s sperm collection room (or at home if you live close to the clinic). We recommend ejaculation 1-3 days before the sample to ensure fresh sperm. The sperm sample is then analysed in the laboratory, where the appearance, movement, and number of sperm cells are assessed. After the analysis of sperm quality, the sperm sample can be frozen in small tubes at -196°C.
We know for sure that factors affecting sperm quality include high BMI, excessive alcohol consumption, and smoking. Therefore, lifestyle changes that improve these parameters are recommended.
Additionally, a daily vitamin supplement for men is recommended, such as a multivitamin pill with folic acid, Omega 3 (1000 mg), Q10 (100 mg), and a vitamin D supplement if your blood test shows low vitamin D levels.
If hormonal imbalance is the cause of the reduced sperm quality, hormone treatment can improve sperm production (this is a specialist task).
If sperm quality is significantly reduced, ICSI treatment is an option. Here, a single sperm cell is injected directly into the egg to ensure that the individual egg ‘lets in’ a sperm cell.
If no sperm cells are found in the sperm samples (azoospermia), sperm can be surgically extracted from the testicles or epididymis (TESA or PESA) and used for ICSI.
If sperm quality is very low, donor sperm can also be used. Donor sperm can be used in both IUI and IVF treatments.
We aim for 8-15 mature follicles per stimulation. However, this may not be possible for women with a low ovarian reserve. And for women with a high ovarian reserve, the number of retrieved eggs will be higher. Therefore, the number of eggs retrieved per egg retrieval will vary from woman to woman.
Egg retrieval is a relatively safe procedure, but like all medical interventions, there is a small risk of infection, bleeding, or damage to surrounding organs.
You should avoid strenuous activities on the day of egg retrieval and take it easy for a couple of days after the procedure. You should not drive for 24 hours after the procedure due to the sedative effect of the medication.
It is normal to experience menstrual-like bleeding after egg retrieval. It is also common to have small blood clots in the bleeding. If you experience heavy bleeding or repeated large blood clots along with heavy bleeding, you should contact the clinic.
You should always contact the clinic’s doctors if you develop a fever after egg retrieval, as it could indicate an infection. If it happens on a weekday evening, you can wait to call until the clinic opens the next morning. If it occurs during the weekend, you should call the emergency doctor.
Embryo transfer is the process where a fertilised egg is placed back into the uterus during IVF/ICSI treatment. Learn more about embryo transfer.
Fresh embryo transfer takes place in the same cycle as the egg retrieval, while frozen embryos are transferred in a later cycle after being frozen.
No. On the contrary, our statistics suggest that there are better success rates with IVF treatment using frozen embryos. Therefore, we perform many more treatments with frozen embryos than with fresh eggs. This procedure is also referred to as FET or FER. Learn more about the FER/FET procedure.
For the vast majority, egg transfer is a procedure without discomfort.
After the embryo transfer, you should take it easy and avoid strenuous activities and infection risks such as hot baths and swimming for 48 hours.
In Denmark, women are eligible for IVF, and other fertility treatments, until she turns 46.
The purpose of endometrial priming is to increase the chances of implantation of a fertilized egg by improving the receptivity of the uterine lining through mild irritation of the lining.
Most experts agree that priming should be done in the cycle preceding the IVF treatment, as several studies have shown that this timing provides the best results. If priming is done simultaneously with egg retrieval, it appears to reduce the chances of pregnancy. Therefore, priming is typically performed about a week before menstruation in the cycle leading up to IVF treatment.
Endometrial priming is a technique that prepares the uterine lining to receive the fertilized egg in order to increase the chances of the egg implanting. You can read more about the technique here.
Most women only experience menstrual-like cramps during the procedure, which lasts only a few minutes. Light bleeding may occur afterwards.
We particularly recommend the treatment for women who have had one or more unsuccessful IVF/ICSI treatments with good quality blastocysts.
The risks of endometrial priming are minimal. Some women may experience mild pain and bleeding.
See our current price list here.
Assisted hatching (AHA) is a technique used in conjunction with IVF and ICSI treatments, where the fertilized egg is assisted in breaking through its membrane to increase the chances of it implanting in the uterine lining and thus establishing a pregnancy.
Assisted hatching can be particularly beneficial for women over 38-40 years old, where the egg’s membrane may be thicker, or for those who have had multiple unsuccessful IVF treatments. It can also be useful if our embryologists assess that the egg’s membrane is too compact to break naturally
The procedure is performed in a laboratory by an experienced embryologist, who creates a small hole in the membrane of the fertilized egg. This is done immediately before the egg is implanted in the uterus and only takes a few minutes, ensuring that the egg’s quality is preserved.
Although Assisted Hatching is generally a safe procedure, there is a rare risk of damage to the egg when the hole is made. Additionally, there is a small increased risk of twins or multiple pregnancies.
A review of studies from the Cochrane Library in 2021 suggests that Assisted Hatching may increase pregnancy rates, especially for women who have had previous unsuccessful IVF attempts. However, there is still uncertainty about whether it generally increases the chances of delivering a live baby.
See our current price list here
In TESA, a thin needle is used to take a small biopsy of the testicular tissue to extract sperm cells, which can be used for ICSI treatment. This method can be used if the man’s semen sample does not contain sperm cells.
PESA may be relevant when there are no sperm cells in the semen sample, and it is possible to extract sperm cells from the epididymis.
With local anesthesia, you will only experience minimal discomfort, but some may feel mild pain and tension pulling up into the groin. If necessary, you can receive additional pain relief intravenously. Afterwards, you may experience soreness, which can be relieved with pain medication such as Paracetamol.
Most people heal within a week, and especially during the first few days, you should avoid physical strain.
Serious complications are rare, but you may experience bleeding/swelling, infection, or tenderness. Contact a doctor if you experience severe pain, fever, or swelling.
See the current prices for TESA/PESA in our price list.
Yes, egg donation is legal in Denmark, but with certain regulations. For example, it is not permitted to sell or store unfertilised eggs from donors in an egg bank. Therefore, the donation and IVF process only begins when a recipient is found and ready for treatment.
Donor egg IVF is an option for women who do not have their own eggs or whose egg quality is insufficient to achieve pregnancy. It may also be relevant if the woman carries a genetic disease she wishes to avoid passing on to the child. Women in early menopause or those who have had their ovaries removed are also be candidates for IVF with donated eggs.
Yes. At Diers IVF, you can choose between open (contactable) and closed (non-contactable) donors. Donors are available through a database where you can read their profiles and select the one that best matches your preferences. To minimise waiting time, we recommend to join the waiting list for multiple donors. Learn more about finding an egg donor.
The egg donor’s cycle can be irregular, which may delay the donation process. The clinic adjusts the treatment plan to account for such situations.
The blastocyst is painlessly placed into the uterus using a small catheter under ultrasound guidance. The procedure takes only a few minutes, and the woman can continue hormone treatment until the pregnancy test, and possibly up to the 12th week of pregnancy if the test is positive.
Pregnancy with donor eggs can increase the risk of pregnancy-related hypertension and preeclampsia. These risks are closely monitored during the pregnancy, and medical treatment may be necessary. Hormonal treatment during the process can also cause temporary side effects such as headaches and bloating.
The timeline for an egg donation treatment depends on the availability of a suitable egg donor and necessary medical tests. Typically, the process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on individual circumstances and waiting times. It is recommended to contact the clinic early for a more precise estimate. Currently, on average, it takes about 2 months from signing the contract to having fertilised eggs frozen for transfer.
Yes, the vast majority of women develop a strong bond with the baby they carry, regardless of genetic connection. Pregnancy plays a significant role in building this bond, as you nurture, protect, and give life to the baby. Your body also influences the baby’s development through epigenetics, and the emotional connection naturally deepens during pregnancy and parenthood. It is your care and love that create the unbreakable bond between you and your child.
It is completely natural to have questions or concerns about bonding when undergoing fertility treatment with egg donation. Give yourself space to process your thoughts and feelings, and consider speaking with someone you trust for support.
Yes, understood in the sense that one woman provides the eggs and becomes the genetic mother, while the other woman carries the pregnancy, gives birth, and becomes the legal and birth mother.
If the roles are then reversed, and the woman who was previously the recipient of the eggs now donates eggs to the woman who donated first, both women would become biological mothers to each of their respective children.
The entire process usually takes a few weeks, depending on how the two women’s menstrual cycles are synchronised.
The success rate varies and depends on factors such as the age of the woman donating the eggs, the quality of the eggs, and the health of the woman who will carry the baby.
Yes, after an initial consultation, you will gain access to the database of donor profiles, where you can select a donor that matches your needs and preferences. We will also be happy to help you find an egg donor who matches your wishes and appearance. Learn more about our egg donors.
An egg donor must be between 18 and 35 years old, healthy, have a BMI under 30, and must not have any genetic or hereditary diseases. The donor must also not be adopted or be a donor child herself.
All donors undergo a medical examination and are tested for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and syphilis. Additionally, the egg donor is questioned about diseases in her family history for three generations. Although the screening is thorough, there is no guarantee that underlying conditions won’t develop later.
An open egg donor allows the child to access her identity when they turn 18 and offers the possibility of one meeting. A closed donor remains anonymous, and the child cannot obtain information about her or contact her.
Egg donor profiles at Diers Fertility Clinic contain details such as height, weight, hair and eye color, education/job, hobbies, personality, family history, childhood photos, and, in some cases, handwritten letters from the donor. This provides a comprehensive insight into the donor’s background and interests.
If a donor is unable to donate, you can switch to one of the other donors you have selected. Therefore, it’s important to have multiple potential donors on your list.
Egg donor treatment is generally available without waiting. However, there may be delays for specific donors, especially those in high demand or if you have unique requirements. To minimise any waiting, you can select donors labeled as “available for new donation now” in the database.
Yes, we would be happy to assist you in matching an egg donor with your physical traits and preferences. You can also choose a donor from the database, where detailed profiles with information such as hair color, eye color, and height are available.
Since unexpected delays can occur, it is recommended to select 6-8 potential donors. Factors such as the donor’s health, travel, or waiting lists can impact the timeline.
Yes. In our database, you can access childhood photos of the donors and sometimes handwritten letters. This can help you get a better impression of the donor.
The clinic staff has extensive experience with donor selection and knows the donors well. We can help you navigate the donor profiles and find a match that meets your preferences. If you send us some photos that resemble you, we would be happy to assist in finding an egg donor with similar facial features.
An egg donor has no legal parental rights or obligations regarding the child. The woman who gives birth to the child is considered the legal mother of the child.
An open donor gives the child the opportunity to learn his identity when they turn 18, as well as the possibility of one meeting. A closed donor remains anonymous, and the child cannot obtain information or contact the donor. Learn more about sperm donor categories.
Yes, it is possible to use a known donor, such as a friend. The donor must be screened and approved before they can be used. Learn more about the process when using a known sperm donor.
You can choose a donor based on factors such as physical characteristics, personality, health status, education, and interests. It is recommended to select several donors to ensure flexibility in the treatment process. Read our guide to finding a sperm donor.
No, at Diers Fertility Clinic, the clinic arranges the delivery of donor sperm from Born and Livio, so it is ready for your treatment. If you choose another sperm bank, you will need to handle the purchasing process and the costs yourself
All sperm donors undergo thorough testing for infectious diseases such as HIV, hepatitis B and C, as well as genetic disorders. The tests follow high Danish and EU standards, but it is important to know that the residual risk can never be completely eliminated. Learn more about screening of sperm donors.
Yes, most sperm banks offer childhood photos of donors, so you can get an impression of their appearance as a child. Born Donor Bank also offers a photo match, where the donor’s appearance is compared to yours.
If a donor is sold out, it is important to have alternatives. The clinic recommends selecting 2-4 favorite donors to avoid delays in the treatment.
A GeneMatch test assesses whether your genetic profile and the donor’s form a healthy match. This can provide extra security, but it is not mandatory. It may be particularly relevant if you have a known genetic risk. A genetic match screens for 420 recessive diseases (diseases with a recessive inheritance pattern). A recessive disease means that if both parents are carriers of the same disease gene, there is a 25% chance the child will inherit the disease. There are many diseases that are not caused by a recessive inheritance pattern, so a genetic match is no guarantee of avoiding disease in the child, but it can provide greater peace of mind and security
Both when using a known donor and a sperm donor from a sperm bank, the woman who gives birth to the child is the legal mother. A sperm bank donor can never be considered the legal father of the child. A known donor may, in certain cases, be considered the legal father, depending on the recipient’s marital status and the agreements made. Learn more details about the civil law consequences of sperm donation.
Yes, sperm donors can be used for both IUI (intrauterine insemination) and IVF/ICSI treatments. The clinic will assist you in selecting sperm units that are suitable for the desired treatment method.