The Assisted Conception Unit (ACU) at Guy’s Hospital is known worldwide as a leading provider of fertility treatments and treats over 2,000 patients a year, including many from the Middle East. We are proud to offer evidence-based practice to our patients alongside innovative treatments and the highest standards of consultant-led, personalised care from one of the UK’s largest and most prestigious teaching hospitals.
As part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, our comprehensive range of treatments includes in vitro fertilization (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), intrauterine insemination (IUI), fertility preservation, embryo implantation and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. Patients can have consultations, tests and investigations, procedures, and gametes storage under one roof with state-of-the-art technology and facilities.
Our experts draw on evidence-based approaches to support patients with personalised care before, during and after treatment. We work as a multidisciplinary team which includes joint working with our embryologists, andrology specialists who advise on male infertility issues, and clinical genetics, enabling us to create a personalised treatment plan.
We understand the emotional challenges of fertility treatment. That’s why our team are proud to offer free counselling for all fertility treatments, including psychosexual support, to provide the emotional support our patients need throughout their journey.
We always put patients’ health and safety first. One aspect of the IVF process is our radio frequency identication tags, which minimise human error by locking a patient’s identity to samples of eggs and sperm. Another example is only offering treatments where reliable evidence proves they can enhance the chance of pregnancy.
As pioneers in fertility treatment, we can access a wealth of advanced techniques for assisted conception, such as an embryoscope to video embryos during early development before implantation. It helps us select embryos with the greatest chance of success. Two fertility services are also at the forefront of innovation – our World-leading fertility care Guy’s and St Thomas’ Specialist Care centre for pre-implantation genetic testing (PGT) and our ovarian tissue cryopreservation (OTC) service.
Pre-implantation genetic testing
PGT is a type of IVF offered to couples at an increased risk of having a child with a specific genetic disorder. Guy’s and St Thomas’ has offered PGT since 1997 and is the UK’s largest and longest-established centre, performing over 60% of all PGT cycles in the country. We test for 300 genetic disorders, such as sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, alpha thalassemia and chromosomal re-arrangements.
Our PGT specialist, Professor Yacoub Khalaf, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist, said: “We pride ourselves in providing effective care that adds value. We assess the best care for our patients. Our track record of success in treating patients from the Middle East is a testimony to the care we provide.”
Embryologists perform the embryo biopsy step in PGT, removing a sample of cells from an embryo to test if they are affected by a genetic condition. Then, only the unaffected embryos are returned to the womb to avoid passing on the disorder to a child as pregnancy hopefully develops.
Ovarian tissue cryopreservation
OTC allows female patients to preserve their fertility before undergoing treatment such as chemo-radiotherapy or stem cell transplants that could make them infertile. Its other advantage is that it can help women restore their menstrual cycle and conceive naturally, although many will still need IVF.
A gynaecologist will collect the ovarian tissue through keyhole surgery before or during chemotherapy. Then, after a safe interval, and when the patient is ready to start a family, they re-implant the ovarian tissue in the pelvis.
Using ovarian tissue is faster than other fertility preservation methods, such as collecting oocytes or embryos, which can take up to three weeks and delay cancer treatment. In contrast, we can arrange ovarian tissue cryopreservation within 2 to 5 days.
We recently expanded our OTC service to give children with gonadotoxic treatment the opportunity to freeze their ovaries at the world-renowned Evelina London Children’s Hospital.
Our consultants are at the forefront of international research, using world-first innovations and sharing their expertise and knowledge to improve fertility services across the globe.
Contact us to learn more about our fertility services:
T: +44(0)20 7188 2300, E: acupersonalisedcare@gstt.nhs.uk
www.guysandstthomasspecialistcare.co.uk
