Tandem treatment is a method used in fertility factors caused by women and allows women to use their own eggs as well as healthy eggs obtained from donors. If the patient’s natural eggs are not effective in a tandem cycle, it includes a plan for egg retrieval from the donor. Tandem treatment is gaining high popularity among fertility treatments today.

Who is suitable for tandem treatment?

Infertility may occur in women due to many problems. The ones related to ovulation are the primary reasons. Unfortunately, pregnancy will not occur because an embryo will not form as a result of dysfunctional ovulation. The tandem treatment is suitable for women who want to give the best chance of using their own eggs for pregnancy.

• Women of advanced age,
• Women with FSH hormone sufficient for ovulation,
• Women with diminished ovarian reserve,
• Tandem treatment will be a good choice for women whose egg cells do not respond positively to fertilization.

How is tandem treatment administered?

Tandem treatment is the presentation of a woman’s own eggs in a unique combination as a backup plan in the same cycle as frozen donor eggs. If the woman’s own eggs are not sufficient, the donor eggs provide flexibility. Using donor eggs in a tandem treatment is not the first choice. These eggs are part of the backup plan and are only used when there is no probability of conception using the patient’s eggs.

The stages of tandem treatment will progress as follows:

·         Ovarian Stimulation:

First, the ovarian reserve needs to be improved for the woman to use her own eggs. If necessary, a number of hormone pills and injections may be used.

·         Egg retrieval:

When the ovulation day is determined, another medication called an egg cracking needle is administered approximately 36 hours before the expected date. After this process, the oocyte retrieval stage begins. The eggs are retrieved by a small surgical operation. Eggs are reached with a thin needle and retrieved by aspiration.

·         Sperm extraction:

The sperm required for fertilization needs to be extracted simultaneously with the egg retrieval stage.

·         Fertilization:

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The classic or microinjection method tries egg cells to be fertilized by sperm in a laboratory environment. The classic method is applied by keeping the egg and sperm in the same place whereas microinjection is performed by injecting sperm into each egg cell.

·         Observation of t fertilization stage:

It is observed for several days whether the female’s own egg cells and the male’s sperm are fertilized. If an embryo forms, the transfer process begins and if it does not form, the tandem treatment begins.

·         Preparation of uterus:

It is important that the thickness of the uterine lining is suitable for pregnancy for an embryo to settle in the uterus. If the woman’s uterine lining is not sufficient, the uterus needs to be prepared with the hormone supplements.

·         Tandem treatment:

The fertilization stage is repeated with donor egg cells and sperm of the male.

·         Embryo transfer:

Embryos obtained from the embryo formed by the woman’s own eggs or egg cells retrieved from the donor are placed in the woman’s uterus after a short-term procedure if possible. Which embryos should be transferred will be decided by the couple themselves under the guidance of the embryologists. The placement status of the embryos transferred to the uterus will result in a pregnancy test taken after a period of approximately 2 weeks.

What are the advantages of tandem treatment?

The biggest advantage of this method is that women with low-quality eggs or poor ovarian response are given the opportunity of pregnancy without losing the chance to use their own eggs.

Tandem treatment will save a lot of time for couples who want to have babies. It can also be said that it will be cost-effective based on the fact that the IVF cycle may need to be repeated several times. Women receiving tandem treatment have a higher chance of pregnancy than women receiving a classic IVF treatment.