After the egg cells reach a certain maturity and size, a final ovulation triggering needle, a hormonal needle that helps the oocytes to mature to what is called MII stage, is used. Egg collection is performed 34-36 hours after the needle is applied. It is crucial to apply this needle at the right time. Egg collection is carried out by transvaginal ultrasonography under sedation, called sedative anesthesia. The reason for this is to prevent the patient from feeling pain. The patient is taken on an empty stomach in the morning and this process takes about 20 to 30 minutes. None of the procedures during IVF treatment need long hospitalization and it takes usually not more than 2-3 hours.
During this operation, the fluid in the follicles is aspirated. The eggs are collected by evaluating the presence of oocytes in the fluid. Eggs may not be found in the follicle fluid in the first procedure. In these cases, with the help of a special liquid, the follicle is washed off and the eggs in the follicle can be found. The number of eggs per patient can be between 10 and 12, and this number may be from 1 to 40. Very rarely, there is a possibility that no eggs may be collected. After this procedure, the patient is followed for 1 – 2 hours and can then go home. The next stage is the selection of the mature oocytes (MII) , the fertilization and the transfer of the good quality embryos inside of the uterus.