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IVF treatment in Goa
IVF (in vitro fertilisation), commonly called test tube baby treatment, means the egg and sperm are joined (fertilized) in a laboratory and the resulting embryo is placed in the womb. Dr. Mayur Pai (our fertility specialist) performs the procedures himself.
Every step is done here in Goa, with our own IVF laboratory and IVF theatre, and most of your visits can be planned close to where you live. You can consult Dr. Mayur Pai at our clinics in Panjim, Margao, Mapusa or Vasco. If you consult at Panjim, Margao or Vasco, we offer free car pickup and drop from your home to our clinic location.
If you are reading this after another month of bad news
Most couples reach a page like this tired. Tired of counting days, tired of the test with one line, tired of the questions at family functions. Many have quietly begun blaming themselves.
Please put that down. Trouble conceiving is a medical problem, not a personal failure, and far more common than anyone admits out loud.
How IVF works, step by step
Normally egg and sperm meet inside the fallopian tube. In IVF we arrange that meeting in the IVF laboratory. Nothing grows in a test tube. Your baby grows inside you.
1. Stimulation
Your ovaries normally release one egg a month. Daily injections for about ten to twelve days ripen several eggs together, so the lab has more than one chance. You come in for short scans, and most women keep working.
2. Egg collection
A short day-care procedure under light anaesthesia. Guided by ultrasound, a fine needle draws fluid from each follicle, and the eggs are found in it. About twenty minutes, and you go home the same day.
3. Fertilisation in the lab
Our embryologist puts eggs and sperm together in a dish, or injects a single sperm into an egg (ICSI, below). Fertilised eggs then grow for a few days in an incubator.
These steps do not follow one another automatically. Not every egg collected is mature, not every mature egg fertilises, and not every fertilised egg becomes an embryo worth transferring, so a cycle can end here, with no transfer at all. So we tell you where you stand at each stage, on the day.
4. Embryo transfer
The embryo is passed into the womb through a soft, thin tube. No anaesthesia, no cutting. For most women it feels like a routine internal examination. Then about two weeks of waiting before the pregnancy blood test.
What needs a IVF laboratory, and what does not
Read the four steps again and notice how little of it needs a IVF laboratory. The consultation, the scans through stimulation, the injections, the blood tests and the two-week wait afterwards are ordinary clinic work, and most of those visits can be planned close to where you live. You can consult Dr. Mayur Pai at our clinics in Panjim, Margao, Mapusa or Vasco.
Two days are different. Step 2, the egg collection, needs an IVF operating theatre with an embryologist waiting next door. Step 4, the transfer, needs the embryo lifted out of the incubator minutes beforehand. Both are done here in Goa, in our own laboratory and theatre — ours rather than rented.
ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) means a single healthy-looking sperm is injected directly into the egg under a high-powered microscope, instead of leaving fertilisation to chance. We use it when sperm count or movement is low, or when sperm has been surgically retrieved.
When there is no sperm at all in the semen, Dr. Mayur Pai performs micro-TESE, searching the testis for sperm under an operating surgical microscope. Many centres cannot offer this, so a "no sperm" report is not automatically the end, though sperm are not found in every man. More on male infertility and micro-TESE.
OHSS, and why we work hard to avoid it
OHSS (ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome) is a complication of the stimulation injections: the ovaries over-respond, swell, and fluid leaks into the abdomen. Mild forms cause bloating; severe forms can mean breathlessness, blood clots and hospital admission.
It comes from the treatment itself, so we build the cycle around avoiding it. That means careful, individualized dosing instead of chasing the highest egg count, close monitoring by scan, and a real willingness to freeze all the embryos for a later frozen embryo transfer — or stop a cycle — when the ovaries respond too strongly. Freezing costs you time. OHSS can cost far more.
Who IVF helps
- Blocked or damaged fallopian tubes
- Low sperm count or movement, or no sperm at all
- Endometriosis, where tissue like the lining of the womb grows outside it, on the ovaries or in the pelvis; it commonly causes painful, heavy periods and pain during intercourse, and can affect fertility
- Ovulation problems, including PCOS, when simpler treatment has failed
- Unexplained infertility after full investigation
- Couples who have already tried IUI and failed.
IVF is not the first answer for everyone. Some couples need a smaller treatment, or a laparoscopic correction first, and we will say so.
Why couples in Goa choose Heartbeats IVF
Dr. Mayur Pai (MBBS, MS Obstetrics & Gynaecology) has practised for fifteen years and does the procedures himself, so you are not handed to a different face each visit. Three doctors are on board, the laboratory does full IVF including ICSI, and we use single-use disposables.
We will not promise you a baby. No honest clinic can. What we will do is give you an honest reading of your own situation, treat you safely, and explain every step before it happens.
If you would like to sit down and simply understand where you stand, call reception on 095459 20817 (call timings 9am to 7pm), or send a WhatsApp message to 095185 02773 (no phone calls, only whatsapp messages).
Questions couples ask us
How long does one IVF cycle take?
It takes about 10 to 15 days till the egg retrieval stage.
Is IVF painful?
Mostly no. The injections sting briefly. Egg collection is under light anaesthesia, so you feel nothing, and mild cramping afterwards is normal. Pain that keeps getting worse, fever or heavy bleeding is not, so ring us. Complications are usually rare but if you have any mild or moderate discomfort, we are always there for you.
Is test tube baby the same as IVF?
Yes. It is the everyday name for IVF. Fertilisation happens in the IVF laboratory; the pregnancy grows in the womb normally.
My husband's report says no sperm. Can we still have IVF?
Sometimes yes. Micro-TESE, under an operating surgical microscope, can find sperm in the testis when the semen has none. Not in every man, though. In modern times micro TESE has been able to make many azoospermic (zero sperm count) men fathers with their OWN SPERMS.
What is OHSS and can it be avoided?
OHSS is over-response of the ovaries to fertility injections. The risk can be greatly reduced by careful dosing, close scanning, and freezing embryos when needed.
Will IVF work in the first attempt?
It may, and it may not. Much depends on age, egg and sperm quality, and the cause. A cycle can also end before transfer. We give a realistic picture, not a number. If the sperm and egg parameters are poor or bad or if the couple's age is more than 35 to 40 years, chances are that you may need more than one cycle of IVF.
Do I have to travel far for IVF?
Every step of IVF is done here in Goa, and the embryology laboratory and operating theatre are our own. Most of your visits — scans, injections, blood tests — can be planned close to where you live. You consult Dr. Mayur Pai at whichever of our clinics suits you: Panjim, Margao, Mapusa or Vasco. If you consult at Panjim, Margao or Vasco, we offer free car pickup and drop from your home to our location.
How many days in one cycle need the laboratory or the theatre?
Usually two: egg collection day and transfer day. If you consult at our Panjim, Margao or Vasco clinic, free car pickup and drop from your home to our location covers these days too. If a laparoscopy and or hysteroscopy also needed, that is one more treatment day.
Your visit is confidential — nothing about you appears on this website or on social media.
This page is for general education and is not personal medical advice. Fertility treatment depends on your individual assessment. Please consult a doctor about your own situation. We do not carry out or offer sex determination of any kind, which is prohibited by law in India under the PCPNDT Act.