Barts and The London Centre for Reproductive Medicine

Our services

Making an appointment

If you are interested in receiving fertility treatment at Barts Centre for Reproductive Medicine, please obtain a referral letter from your GP or consultant gynaecologist.

We see referred patients between 9am-5pm Monday-Friday.

Appointments and prices for the private evening clinic held on Tuesdays from 5.30-7.30pm can be made by calling 020 346 55050.

Treatments offered

Barts and The London Centre for Reproductive Medicine has been offering a full range of successful assisted conception techniques since 1986.

We aim to reach a diagnosis with minimal delay and all treatments are individually tailored to meet the needs of the couple.

Storing the eggs

We offer the following treatments:

Ovulation induction (OI)

OI is used for women who either don't ovulate (release an egg) or don't ovulate regularly. Fertility drugs (tablets or injections) are used to help women to ovulate and so have the chance to conceive naturally.

The woman’s natural cycle and urinary hormone testing are used to help assess the day of ovulation and couples are then advised the best time to have intercourse.

Intrauterine insemination (IUI)

This treatment involves the injection of processed sperm, in order to obtain a high concentration into the uterus, on the appropriate day of the cycle.

It is usually combined with drugs used to help ovulation induction to maximise the chance of ovulation and treatment success.

Donor insemination (DI)

This treatment involves the injection of donor sperm and is used for those couples where the male partner has no sperm or for single women and same-sex couples.

To find out more about sperm donation please click here.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF)

A six cell embryo

This involves stimulation of the woman's ovaries using fertility drugs in an attempt to produce a number of eggs (controlled ovarian stimulation with injections) which are then removed under intravenous sedation.

The eggs are then inseminated in the laboratory with the partners sperm (or donor sperm as necessary).

If fertilisation occurs, one-two of the fertilised eggs (now called embryos) are transferred into the uterus two-three days following egg collection.

Any excess embryos of good quality may be stored (frozen) for later use.

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection

This technique involves the injection of a single sperm into an egg to increase the chance of fertilisation where sperm quality is poor.

The process of treatment is the same as for IVF with 1-2 embryos being placed inside the uterus 2-3 days following egg collection.

Frozen embryo transfer (FET)

Where couples have had embryos frozen from a previous fresh cycle of IVF or ICSI, these embryos can be thawed to be replaced either in a natural cycle (if the woman ovulates) or in a hormone replacement cycle (if there is a problem with ovulation or the lining of the womb (endometrium) is not adequately thick).

Approximately 70 per cent of good quality embryos survive the freezing and subsequent thawing process. This may mean that for some couples, none of the embryos survive.

Oocyte freezing (OF)

This treatment is used for women whose fertility potential is likely to be compromised - such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

Oocyte freezing is not offered to women who wish to preserve their fertility on the grounds of age or for social reasons.

The treatment involves stimulating the woman's ovaries to produce a number of eggs which are then frozen for later use.

We do not offer OT to women who wish to preserve their fertility on the grounds of age.

Sperm freezing

This treatment is offered to men whose sperm is likely to be compromised by medical treatments or those who have difficulty in producing a sperm sample.

It involves the production of a sperm sample which is then washed and frozen for later use.

Egg donation

Some women do not have eggs (menapause). This may occur naturally or secondary to chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

In these cases, donated eggs can be fertilised with the partners' sperm and the resulting embryos are transferred into the women's (recipients) womb.

This process is also suitable for women with genetic disorders or in rare cases afteer repeated failure of IVF/ICSI.

Egg donors should be 35 or less. To find out more about egg donotion please click here.

Egg sharing

Couples undergoing IVF treatment may decide to donate some of the eggs retrieved during the treatment to another couple.

Egg sharing donors should be 35 or less and should undergo screening and counselling prior to starting treatment.

To find out more about egg donation click here.

Assisted Hatching (AH)

This treatment involves making a small hole in the outer shell of the embryo before it is transferred into the womb.

This technique has currently unproven benefits in terms of increased pregnancy rates but may be considered for those women who have proven thickening of the outer shell of the embryo, who are older than 40 years (>40 years old), or who have had multiple attempts at IVF/ICSI without success.

Surrogacy

This is a process whereby embryos from a couple (commissioning couple) are transferred inside the womb of another woman.

This may be necessary for women who are unable to carry a pregnancy because of medical reasons or in women who do not have a womb.

Surgical sperm retrieval

This process involves the extraction of sperm from the epididymis or from the testes by means of a surgical procedure in men who cannot ejaculate sperm (azoospermia).

This procedure involves assessment of the man by an andrologist/urologist and is usually performed as a day case procedure either with a general anaesthetic or under local anaesthesia.

Retrieved sperm can be frozen for later use.

Reproductive surgery

Surgical treatments relevant to fertility problems such as tubal surgery, treatment of endometriosis, ovarian cysts, removal of fibroids and correction of abnormalities of the womb are offered by a team of consultants specifically trained in reproductive surgery.

Most procedures are performed using minimal access (key hole surgery) which minimises patient recovery times.

The surgical management of patients by the same consultants managing fertility treatments allows for individualised treatment and a seamless transition from surgery to fertility treatment.