Mini in-vitro fertilization or mini IVF is a kind of treatment similar to a regular IVF procedure but has a lower cost. Mini IVF uses a reduced or low dose of stimulating or fertility drugs with different timings.
Difference between Mini IVF and a regular IVF procedure
A mini IVF or a minimal stimulation IVF technique is a new and unique approach of IVF treatment and it was first develop in Japan. Compared to a regular IVF procedure, mini IVF avoids patient's common complaints like daily injections of hormones that would last for months, risk of multiple pregnancies, side effects from estrogen, and it has almost zero percent of possibility of acquiring ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome (OHSS). Mini IVF is also much more affordable compared to a regular IVF.
Cost of Mini IVF
The total cost of a mini IVF is about half of a regular IVF treatment. The cost includes medications, anesthesia costs, clinic monitoring visits, laboratory costs, and IVF main procedure. A regular IVF would cost around $10,000 to $15,000 so a mini IVF would cost around $5,000 to $8,000. Some clinics even offer great discounts.
Mini IVF Process
With mini IVF, on the day 3 of a woman's menstrual cycle, they usually start taking a low dosage of Clomid (50mg), a drug used to stimulate ovulation. They will continue taking these drugs for about 5 days or until ultrasound result shows that follicles are ready to ovulate. Continuous taking of Clomid helps reduce the chance of producing premature eggs and allows development of high quality eggs. On days 8, 10 and 12, the patient will be given a low booster dosage of gonadotropin (150 IU of FSH) before receiving HCG medications to help mature the eggs. The patient's ovaries will then be monitored through ultrasound before taking Ganirelix. This simple, low dosage of mini IVF protocol allows development of fewer but high quality eggs for IVF. The eggs will then be recovered from the woman for fertilization. The process of mini IVF would take at least 2 weeks.
Who can have Mini IVF?
Any patient can use the mini IVF technique. But women who are most qualified to undergo mini IVF procedures are:
- Women who cannot undergo regular IVF treatment due to the high dosage of medical treatments
- Women who can't afford IVF
- Women who have high risk of ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome
- Women whose age are over 40
- Women who had experienced bad effects of stimulating hormones
Advantages and Disadvantages of Mini IVF
Mini IVF has lesser side effects compared to a regular IVF cycle. However, the success rate of a regular IVF is much higher than a mini IVF. The main purpose of giving low dosage is to harvest few but great quality embryos. Few embryos mean lower risk for multiple births and lesser chance for a successful IVF. It is also said that women over 40 are better candidates to go through mini IVF because older women have lower ovarian reserve compared to younger women.
Some women also say that mini IVF is less stressful. Success rate of mini IVF is half of the average success rate of regular IVF. Whether to take a mini IVF or a regular IVF is the patient's choice.