New minimally invasive fertility treatment on offer in Australia

The IVF alternative means fewer or no hormone stimulation injections, but eligibility is restricted
Professor Robert Gilchrist
Professor Robert Gilchrist.

An emerging less-invasive infertility treatment is being offered in Australia for the first time, holding out hope for about 15% of women who cannot conceive naturally, including those who struggle with IVF.

Called CAPA-IVM (capacitation in-vitro maturation), the treatment differs from IVF because it involves retrieval of a woman’s eggs from the ovary while they are still immature and growing them in cell culture prior to fertilisation.