Reciprocal IVF

In vitro fertilisation is the most sophisticated and precise technique in the assisted reproduction market.

It is an assisted reproduction technique aimed primarily at a couple with problems getting pregnant, a very common situation nowadays, even in young couples of fertile age.

At Operarme we offer you the Reciprocal IVF treatment for 4.790 €, a fixed price with all the necessary services to successfully complete the treatment, as well as a network of fertility clinics of reference at a national and European level, with one of the best success rates in terms of pregnancies. 

This reciprocal IVF treatment, also known as shared motherhood, is mainly aimed at female couples, who wish to have a child together; thanks to this technique, both women can actively participate in the process as mothers. 

For this reason, it is important to have an initial consultation with a specialist in Assisted Reproduction to familiarise yourself with your case and find out your fertility level for Reciprocal IVF treatment.

If you and your partner are thinking of undergoing Reciprocal In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF), we recommend that you first carry out the Couple Fertility Study, which, in addition to the assessment consultation that we offer, includes all the tests necessary to determine the viability of the treatment in your couple → Read more about the Couple Fertility Study.

Throughout this page you will find more detailed information about the treatment. However, you can contact us at +34 91 141 33 56, and our Patient Service team will answer any questions you may have.

Reciprocal In vitro fertilisation (IVF), also known as Shared Motherhood, is an assisted reproduction technique aimed mainly at a homosexual couple who wish to have a baby together. This technique offers them an alternative in which both women can actively participate in the process of fertilisation and gestation: one of them as the genetic mother, i.e. she provides the egg to be fertilised, and the other as the gestational mother, carrying the baby in her womb.

In Vitro Fertilisation treatment consists of the fertilisation of an egg (from one of the mothers) and a sperm (in this case, with sperm from a donor) in a laboratory, in order to obtain a viable embryo and subsequently implant it in the uterus of the pregnant mother.

IVF treatment is currently one of the most successful treatments per attempt, surpassing even artificial insemination, and in most cases it is the first option for a couple or a woman who wants to have a child, with a success rate of up to 60% (although everything always depends on the age range and health characteristics of the patients).

As we have indicated above, the reciprocal IVF method offers the opportunity for a female couple to experience shared motherhood, as both women participate in the process. Between the two patients, they will have to decide who will assume the role of the genetic mother and carry out the first part of the process to obtain eggs, and who will assume the role of the gestational mother, to whom the embryo gestated in the laboratory will be transferred to fulfil the objective of becoming pregnant and gestate the baby.

In cases where there is an age difference between the two mothers, specialists always recommend that the younger of the couple be the genetic mother, to ensure that the oocytes have the greatest reproductive potential to achieve pregnancy.

This technique involves a small surgical intervention, in which the eggs are extracted. It is a minor outpatient surgery, in which between 5 and 15 eggs are removed, which will then be fertilised in the laboratory.

The high number of eggs extracted is the usual number and can be achieved thanks to the ovarian stimulation that forms part of the treatment process, which we will explain later on.

Reciprocal In Vitro Fertilisation treatment generally lasts between 12-14 days, always depending on the ovarian response of the genetic mother (this period includes from ovarian stimulation to embryo transfer):

• After having attended the first assessment consultation with one of our specialists, and having decided to go ahead with the treatment, the patient (genetic mother) begins the first and most important phase, called ovarian stimulation. 
• 32-40 hours after the end of the stimulation phase, the oocyte extraction called ovarian puncture is performed. This takes about 15 minutes.
• Finally, 3-5 days after fertilisation, the embryo transfer takes place. This is the last phase of the treatment, in which the patient (pregnant mother) remains in the clinic for a short time (10 minutes) to rest after the embryo has been inserted into the uterus.

If you and your partner are considering Reciprocal IVF, Operarme offers you a free, and immediate assessment consultation with one of the assisted reproduction specialists at our collaborating specialised centres. 

You can request your assessment consultation through the website by clicking on the banner below, or by calling at +34 91 141 33 56.

Are you interested in undergoing Reciprocal IVF treatment?

Request a free and immediate appointment with our specialists in Assisted Reproduction

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Our Patient Service team will take your details, manage and confirm your consultation date, as well as answer any questions you may have about the process.

On the day of the appointment with the assisted reproduction specialists at one of our collaborating centres, patients come to the consultation with the necessary documentation (our Patient Service team will tell patients what documentation to bring on the day of the appointment) and all the complementary tests associated with their fertility problem so that the specialist can begin to familiarise himself/herself with the case.

This type of assessment consultation is usually carried out in the following way: 

• Medical interview: in this consultation, patients will inform the specialist of the reasons for attending this consultation and considering opting for a treatment such as in vitro fertilisation. The doctor will ask the couple a series of questions about their medical history, reproductive history, lifestyle, etc., as well as providing them with information about Reciprocal IVF, its benefits, success rate, time, etc.
• Review of tests: in this consultation, the specialist also proceeds to review the medical tests provided by the couple regarding their infertility problems, in order to determine whether in vitro fertilisation is the best option for their particular case, or whether another type of assisted reproduction treatment should be recommended. If the couple has not previously undergone the Couple Fertility Study, in which a blood test and a hormonal analysis are carried out to check the couple's fertility level, they can contact our team at Operarme, who will help them to arrange an appointment for the diagnostic tests prior to the consultation with the specialist. These diagnostic tests are not included in the free assessment consultation and must be paid for by the patient.
• Decision-making: after having reviewed the results of the tests and resolved the patient's doubts, the specialist will conclude the consultation, and the couple will decide at that moment or in the next few days to go ahead with the process and start the treatment.

If the couple does not make a decision at the time of the consultation, they should contact our Patient Service team to indicate that they want to continue with the process and start the treatment, once they have made their decision.

Once the decision has been made to start In Vitro Fertilisation treatment, our Patient Service team will arrange appointments with the clinic to begin the first part of the procedure.

Before starting the first stage, a transvaginal ultrasound scan is performed on the genetic mother to check her uterus and ovaries, repeating this test several times throughout the ovarian stimulation process (in the pregnant mother) to monitor the number and size of the follicles.

After these preliminary steps, if the specialist considers that all is well enough to continue the in vitro treatment, the 5-stage process begins:

Ovarian stimulation

The start of ovarian stimulation must coincide with the arrival of the genetic mother's menstruation in order to produce an increase in the number of follicles.

The main objective of this first phase is to stimulate the patient's ovaries in order to obtain a certain number of eggs to maximise the chances of pregnancy. 

This part of the treatment consists of a daily injection to increase the size and number of follicles produced in order to achieve multiple ovulation for in vitro fertilisation.

During this period, ultrasound monitoring is carried out to control and monitor the evolution of the number of follicles until the required number is achieved.

After the last injection of the ovarian stimulation phase, the egg retrieval procedure (ovarian puncture) is scheduled for approximately 36 hours later.

Ovarian puncture

Once the ovarian stimulation stage is over, 36 hours after the last injection, the eggs are removed through an intervention known as ovarian puncture or transvaginal follicular puncture.

It is an outpatient procedure, simple and quick. Below we detail the steps followed by the medical team to perform the egg retrieval.

On the day of the egg retrieval, the couple comes to the hospital with the documentation required for admission. The patient (genetic mother) is escorted to a waiting room where she will be asked to undress and put on her operating clothes. It is important to note that no jewellery or piercings should be worn for the operation.

Once in the operating theatre, the patient will meet the medical team that will perform the puncture: the specialist, the anaesthesiologist and an ATS who will assist during the surgery:

• First, the specialist will give the patient instructions on how to position herself on the examination table, with the necessary posture being the same as for a conventional cytology.
• Next, the anaesthesiologist will apply sedation to the patient. In this type of procedure, only local or regional anaesthesia is used, never general anaesthesia.
• Once the patient is sedated, the specialist begins the extraction.
• He first introduces a needle via the transvaginal route, guided by an ultrasound scanner that allows him to visualise the inside of the pelvic cavity, to pass through the wall of the vagina and thus reach the ovaries.
• The follicles are then aspirated and the follicular fluid is collected in tubes, which are stored to preserve the fluid and then sent to the laboratory. 
• In most cases, there is a possibility that during the puncture, the fluid will come out red. This blood will be removed in the laboratory to facilitate fertilisation.
• Once all the follicular fluid has been removed, the procedure is completed and the patient is awakened.

This procedure lasts approximately 15 minutes. After the puncture, the patient is transferred to a recovery room where she remains until she recovers from the anaesthesia.

The next stage of the in vitro treatment is insemination and fertilisation in the laboratory.

Fertilisation and embryo culture

After completing the extraction, the samples are taken to the laboratory where any blood that may have been extracted with the liquid and that could affect the oocytes is first removed.

The oocytes are then washed and sorted. This procedure is very important and requires precision, which is why it is necessary to contact the best possible medical and technological team, as is the case with the team of professionals that make up our collaborating clinics, which have professionals with more than 30 years of experience in assisted reproduction. 

After classification, the oocytes are left in a culture medium. While the oocytes are being prepared, the specialists begin to prepare the sperm sample from a donor (from the clinic's sperm donor bank) in order to isolate the spermatozoa to be used for fertilisation.

After insemination, it is necessary to wait a few hours or even a whole day to check how many eggs have been fertilised. The next step is the culture of the embryo.

Once fertilised, these eggs develop into pre-embryos over the next 5-6 days, during which time the lab team will monitor them regularly to ensure that they are growing properly and their cells are actively dividing.

The laboratory team will carry out active, real-time monitoring of the entire embryo culture, in order to select the embryos that are most likely to be viable and increase the chances of pregnancy in the patient (pregnant mother). 

Once the embryos are ready, the embryo is transferred to the pregnant mother 3 to 5 days after the egg retrieval surgery, depending on the case of each patient.

Embryo transfer

Three to five days after the ovarian puncture, the last stage of the treatment is carried out: the embryo transfer or introduction of the embryo into the uterus.

This process is performed on an outpatient basis and does not require anaesthesia. For this procedure, it is advisable for the patient to come with a full bladder to facilitate ultrasound visualisation.

The embryo transfer procedure is performed by the gynaecologist using a fine cannula that is inserted through the vagina until it reaches the end of the uterus. Through this catheter the embryos are channelled and placed in the uterus.

After implantation, the patient is always advised to rest for the rest of the day and resume her daily activities the following day. 

If one of these embryos implants in the lining of the uterus (endometrium) and begins to grow, the desired pregnancy occurs.

The remaining embryos are preserved in latest technology banks designed to avoid cross-contamination. The cost of the treatment covers preservation for the first two years (but does not include freezing).

Confirmation of pregnancy

About 15 days after the embryo transfer stage to the pregnant mother, the patient is called back to the clinic for a pregnancy test.

In the case of a positive result, the patient will come back in about 7-10 days after the test, for an ultrasound scan to confirm the embryo sac. If all goes well, the expectant mother can then continue to follow the pregnancy with her regular gynaecologist.

After completing the embryo transfer and implantation, the patient must follow the specific indications of the specialists in order to favour the successful implantation of the embryo in the uterus.

Twelve to fourteen days after the last stage of the in vitro treatment, the patient should visit the clinic for a pregnancy test to check whether the treatment has been successful.

What happens if there are leftover embryos?

During the in vitro fertilisation process, a maximum of 2-3 embryos are implanted in the uterus, which is why there are always viable embryos left over. The patient can decide to preserve them by cryopreservation, in order to make use of them in a future in vitro process.

However, this cryopreservation treatment is not included in the fixed price of the treatment.

When should I contact the doctor after IVF?

The patient (pregnant mother) has a series of control and revision consultations that the clinic team will indicate to her during the post-IVF treatment process. 

Despite these consultations, it is always recommended that if the patient notices any of the following situations at any time, she should see a doctor immediately: 

• Fever temperature higher than 38 ºC 
• Pain in the pelvic area
• Vaginal bleeding
• Blood in the urine

• All-inclusive price: When you have your In Vitro Fertilisation Treatment with Operarme the advantages are many. Firstly, the price of the treatment is all-inclusive, which means that there are no surprises at the end. In addition, Operarme provides you with a medical service contract in which it guarantees the price and everything included in the in vitro fertilisation treatment.
• The best assisted reproduction team: All fertility and assisted reproduction treatments provided by Operarme throughout Spain are carried out by the specialised team of the best national clinics in Assisted Reproduction, with more than 30 years providing this service.
• Personalised attention: In addition to the personal, close and attentive treatment that couples will receive in the clinics where we provide the service, the couple will have a personal Operarme patient care advisor who will help them throughout the process.
• Hospital environment: Maximum security by guaranteeing that the entire process is carried out in a hospital environment, with the entire process being carried out in the main private hospitals in the provinces in which we work.
• Partial refund clause: Another important aspect of Operarme's medical services contract is the inclusion of a partial refund clause in the event that the couple, or due to medical advice, decides to interrupt the in vitro fertilisation process. The amount refunded will depend on the stage in the process at which it is decided to stop. If you have any questions about this clause, you can contact us through a contact form or by calling at +34 91 141 33 56.
• No waiting: the consultation with the Assisted Reproduction team through Operarme is free and immediate. In addition, when the couple decides to undergo In Vitro Fertilisation Treatment (IVF) it begins immediately.

Assess your case with our specialists in Reciprocal IVF

Request a free and immediate consultation with our specialists in Assisted Reproduction

Make an appointment