Preparation of the endometrium by the intra-uterine administration of autologous mononuclear cells.

This is an innovative procedure that increases the chances of pregnancy in women with repeated implantation failures.

The method consists in collecting peripheral blood and isolating mononuclear cells; these cells are then cultured and subsequently injected into the uterine cavity. Treating these cells in culture with CRH (corticotropin releasing hormone) significantly increases the clinical pregnancy rate.

The procedure is relatively simple. Venous blood is drawn from the arm during the egg collection procedure; the cells are isolated and cultured in the laboratory and then transferred to the uterine cavity on day 2. Embryo transfer is performed on day 5, when embryos reach the blastocyst stage.

This method was first applied in the IVF Unit of the University of Crete under my guidance; it was subsequently tested by a multicenter study, published recenlty in a reputable scientific journal (Eur J Clin Invest 2015). So far, our encouraging results are benefiting from the impact and acceptance on behalf of the global scientific community; it seems that the effectiveness of IVF actually improves in this group of tormented patients with recurrent implantation failure.