Treatments and Services - Herts and Essex Fertility Centre
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Waiting lists for treatments
Some clinics have waiting lists for In Vitro Fertilisation (IVF) and Donor Insemination (DI) treatments. See below for this clinic's waiting lists:
| Treatment | NHS | Private |
|---|---|---|
| IVF | 1-2 weeks | 1-2 weeks |
| DI | 1-2 weeks |
These figures are estimates based on past data. Always check with the clinic to confirm current waiting times!
Eligibility and funding
The following criteria are set by the clinic only. If you are an NHS patient your Primary Care Trust (PCT) or Health Board might have different critera. Always check with your PCT Health Board to make sure you are eligible.
| Clinic's eligibility criteria | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| Treats private patients |  | Each clinic sets their own guidelines about who they will and will not treat. It's important to find a clinic that meets your needs. |
| Treats NHS patients | | |
| Upper age limit of patients treated | | Over 44 |
| BMI limit | | 30 |
| Limit to IVF cycles offered |  | |
| Limit to DI/IUI cycles offered | |
Funding
Cycles offered on the NHS vary between regions in the UK. In-depth information and advice about funding is provided by the Infertility Network UK.
Treatments
The following treatments are licensed and regulated by the HFEA
| Treatment | Provided at this clinic? | What's this? |
|---|---|---|
| IVF | | Eggs are fertilised with sperm in a laboratory dish, then transferred to the womb....more about IVF |
| ICSI | | A single sperm is directly injected into an egg. The fertilised egg is transferred to the womb...more about ICSI |
| Surgical sperm collection | | The surgical retrieval of sperm for use in fertility treatment. |
| Egg preparation | | The preparation of eggs for use in fertility treatment. |
| Thawing or rewarming gametes | | The preparation of gametes that have been frozen for use in treatment. |
| Insemination | | The best quality donor sperm are selected and inserted into the woman's womb....more about Insemination |
| GIFT | | A procedure in which eggs are retrieved from a woman, mixed with sperm and immediately replaced in one or other of the woman's fallopian tubes so that they fertilise inside the body (in vivo). |
| Egg collection | | Procedure by which eggs are collected from the woman's ovaries by using an ultrasound guided needle, or by using a laparoscope (an instrument used for looking into the abdomen) and a needle. Also known as egg retrieval. |
| Ovarian tissue collection | | The collection of ovarian tissue from a woman. |
| Semen preparation | | The preparation of semen for use in fertility treatment. |
| In vitro maturation | | If eggs are removed from the ovaries when they are still immature, they can then be matured in the laboratory before being fertilised. |
| Lavage | | The removal of a fertilised egg or cleavage stage embryo from the womb before implantation by washing out the uterine cavity. |
| Assisted hatching (mechanical, chemical, laser) | | The mechanical, laser or chemical breaching of the zona pellucida (outer layer) of the egg. |
Treatments
Not all clinics can offer all possible treatments. If you are looking for a clinic that offers a specific treatment you can use our advanced search
Donor services
| Donor services | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| ICSI with donor sperm | | |
| IVF with donor sperm | | A clinic may recommend donor conception when treatment is unlikely to be successful if you were to use your own eggs or sperm....more about using a donor |
| IVF with donor eggs | | |
| ICSI with donor eggs | | |
| ICSI with donor embryos | | |
| IVF with donor embryos | | |
| GIFT with donor sperm | | |
| GIFT with donor eggs | |
Donor recruitment
| Donor recruitment | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| Egg sharing programme | | |
| Known donor programme | | |
| Recruits egg donors | | |
| Recruits embryo donors | | |
| Recruits donors for treatment of others | | |
| Recruits donors for research projects | | |
| Recruits sperm donors | | In the UK, in order to donate you will need to contact a fertility clinic that is licensed by the HFEA to receive donations....more about donation |
| Sperm sharing | |
Donation - Am I eligible?
You will need to fulfill certain criteria to establish your suitability. Found out if you are able to donate. ..more about eligibility
Screening services
| Genetic screening services | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| PGD | | PGD involves the checking of embryos created through IVF to test for inheritable genetic conditions....more about PGD |
| PGS | | PGS is a screening technique used to avoid abnormal embryos being transferred to the womb....more about PGS |
| Polar body biopsy | | |
Testing for genetic disorders
If the condition you want to test for is not listed here, it does not mean that this clinic will not be able to help you. All clinics licensed for PGD are allowed to test for any condition that the HFEA has agreed is sufficiently serious...more about conditions licensed for PGD
Storage
| Storage services | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| Stores eggs | | |
| Stores embryos | | |
| Stores sperm | | Some patients choose to store good quality unused sperm, eggs or embryos for use in later treatment cycles or for donation....more about storage |
| Storage of embryos for oncology patients | | |
| Stores ovarian tissue | | |
| Stores testicular tissue | | |
| Stores of ovarian tissue for oncology patients | | |
| Storage of sperm for oncology patients | | |
| Storage of eggs for oncology patients | | |
| Storage of testicular tissue for oncology patients | | |
| Culture of eggs | | The keeping of eggs in culture medium. |
| Transfer of sperm between centres | | |
| Transfer of eggs between centres | | |
| Freezing of eggs | | Eggs can be frozen for future use either in artificial insemination or other fertility treatments, or be donated. |
| Freezing of sperm | | Sperm can be frozen for future use either in artificial insemination or other fertility treatments, or be donated. Donated sperm has to be stored for six months before it can be used in treatment in order to screen the donor for infections. |
| Vitrification of eggs | | Vitrification is a process used to store eggs. Eggs can be frozen for future use either in artificial insemination or other fertility treatments, or be donated. |
| Freezing of testicular tissue | | |
| Freezing of ovarian tissue | | |
| Freezing of pronucleate embryos | | Pronucleate embryos are at an early stage of embryonic development. During fertility treatment there are normally a number of unused embryos remaining. Some people choose to freeze the good quality unused embryos for use in later treatment cycles or for donation. |
| Freezing of early cleavage embryos | | Early cleavage embryos are at an early stage of embryonic development. During fertility treatment there can be a number of unused embryos remaining. Some people choose to freeze the good quality unused embryos for use in later treatment cycles or for donation. |
| Freezing of blastocysts | | Blastocysts are embryos at day 5 or 6 of development. During fertility treatment there can be a number of unused embryos remaining. Some people choose to freeze the good quality unused embryos for use in later treatment cycles or for donation. |
| Vitrification of embryos | | A process of embryo storage (cryopreservation) that avoids ice crystal formation by the use of high cooling rates and a high concentration of cryoprotectant. |
| Vitrification of blastocysts | | A process of storing embryos at the blastocyst stage of development that avoids ice crystal formation by the use of high cooling rates and a high concentration of cryoprotectant. |
| Culture system | | The keeping of gametes and/or embryos in culture medium. |
| Transfer of embryos between centres | |
Counselling and support
| Counselling and support | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| Patients open day at clinic | | Counselling can help you explore your feelings, become clearer about your situation and find new ways of coping...more about getting support |
| Patients open evenings at clinic | | |
| Counselling services at clinic | | |
| Patient support group at clinic | | |
| Dedicated Counsellor | | |
| Treatment information available in other languages | | |
| Other support services | | |
| Translator available on request | |
Other treatments and services offered (non-licensed)
The following treatments and services are not licensed or regulated by the HFEA
| Other treatments and services | Provided at this clinic? | What does this mean? |
|---|---|---|
| Sperm assessment | | Analysis to assess the quality and quantity of a man's sperm. |
| Post-coital test | | A test done after sex that checks the ability of sperm to survive in cervix mucus. |
| Monitoring ovulation cycle | | Scans / blood tests to see when you are ovulating. |
| Ovulation induction | | When drugs are used to induce ovuation...more about fertility drugs |
| MESA | | |
| PESA | | |
| TESA | | |
| Tubal surgery | | Surgical procedures to unblock the fallopian tubes....more about surgery |
| Full surrogacy | | Partial surrogacy is where the surrogate provides an egg for use in treatment....more about surrogacy |
| Partial surrogacy | | |
| Sperm washing | | |
| Treats patients with HIV | | |
| Treats patients with HepA | | |
| Treats patients with HepB | | |
| Storage for patients with communicable viral infections | | |
| DI/GIFT facilities for patients with communicable viral infections | | |
| IVF for patients with communicable viral infections | |
The information that we publish on our website is a snap shot of data provided to us by licensed centres at a particular time. This information may be subject to change as individual centres notify us of amendments. Before publication, we perform a preliminary validation process on the data, and ask centres to confirm its accuracy, for which they remain responsible.