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Reproductive immunology
- Your immune system and your fertility
- In-house labs for patient convenience
- Fully personalised care in state-of-the-art facilities
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Reproductive immunology at HCA UK
Why choose us?
Our fertility expertise is backed by our state-of-the-art facilities and the latest diagnostics. We understand the challenges of trying to conceive and provide fully personalised care to give you the best possible chance of achieving a pregnancy. If you’ve had recurrent miscarriage or multiple implantation failure, then your consultant may recommend reproductive immunology testing. This experimental area of fertility medicine looks at whether your immune system may be a cause of your fertility problems.
Reproductive immunology looks at how your immune system reacts when you become pregnant. Your immune system usually works by fighting off ‘foreign’ cells, such as infections, to protect your body. When you become pregnant, your immune system learns to tolerate and support the growing embryo, rather than seeing it as a foreign body.
Scientists are interested in whether this involvement of the immune system in pregnancy may be linked recurrent miscarriage and implantation failure. This is an experimental and controversial area of fertility medicine.
We don’t offer immune screening routinely at our fertility clinics. This is because there isn’t enough good evidence to support it. However, your consultant may offer blood tests for NK cells if you’ve had several failed IV treatment cycles with good-quality embryos, and no cause can be found.
We know that the immune system has a major role in supporting implantation of an embryo during pregnancy1. This is how it works:
- A type of white blood cell, known as natural killer cells (NK cells) are naturally present in the lining of your womb. These are called uterine NK cells.
- When an embryo starts to implant in your womb, cells from the embryo interact with the NK cells.
- This interaction helps the embryo to implant and protects it from infection.
As well as being present in the lining of your womb, NK cells also circulate in your blood to fight off infection.
There’s some suggestion that problems with these NK cells and how they function may have a negative impact on a pregnancy.
Research by doctors from our own clinic has shown an association between raised levels of certain NK cell markers with recurrent IVF failure and miscarriage.2 However, there isn’t enough evidence yet to confirm a link and research in this area is ongoing.3,4
23,000+
babies born with us
10+
dedicated fertility consultants
35+
years since we opened our doors
One dedicated facility
All procedures and treatments carried out on-site at our main clinic
State-of-the-art laboratories
For speed, ease, accuracy and safety, all tests are processed in our in-house labs
Exceptional personalised care
Lister Fertility Clinic is one of the UK’s leading private fertility centres, offering expert care by our fertility specialists
Reproductive immunology testing
What to expect
From the moment you enter our fertility clinic, we want you to feel as comfortable possible. We understand that having any kind of test can be a worrying time, so our team is here to support you.
01
Initial consultation
Your chosen consultant will carry out your initial consultation, including going through your medical history. They’ll discuss your concerns and answer any questions. If you’ve had several failed IVF treatment cycles with good-quality embryos, and no cause can be found, and your consultant believes reproductive immunology testing could be beneficial, then they’ll arrange for blood tests.
02
Tests and scans
We offer blood tests for NK cells. These tests measure:
- Activation markers of NK cells in the blood
- How the cells are behaving (their ‘killing power’)
- Whether potential treatments could reduce the killing power of the cells
03
Follow-up appointment
After your blood tests, you’ll have a follow-up appointment with your consultant to discuss your results. They’ll make sure you understand what the results mean and answer any questions you may have.
04
Discuss any next steps
If you have elevated NK cells, then your consultant will discuss the pros and cons of immunology treatment options with you, so you can make an informed decision about whether to go ahead.
It’s important to be aware that these treatments are experimental due to lack of evidence – there are no good quality studies that show a benefit. It’s also important to understand that all the treatments come with risks, some of which are serious.
05
Your personalised treatment
We offer reproductive immunology treatments as an ‘add on’ to your IVF treatment. You can find out more about this in our ‘Your questions answered’ section.
You consultant will discuss the best treatment for you. The reproductive immunology treatments we offer, include:
Steroids, such as prednisolone
These tablets are taken from early on in your IVF cycle until the end of 12 weeks of pregnancy. Steroids can increase the risk of infection, which can be dangerous for you and a growing baby. Other side effects include high blood pressure, fluid retention and high blood sugar.5 You’ll be monitored carefully if you take them.
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg)
These are concentrated and highly purified human antibodies that you have as an infusion (a drip into a vein). You can have this as a day case procedure at the Lister Fertility Clinic, or we can arrange for you to have it at home. You may need up to three treatments, which start around the time of egg collection.
Common side effects can include headache, muscle pain, fever, chills and low back pain. However, there’s also a risk of more serious side effects, such as blood clots, kidney failure and anaphylaxis (a serious allergic reaction).5
Intralipid infusions
Intralipid is actually a type of nutritional therapy, but there’s some low-quality evidence that it may also help to lower the killing power of NK cells in some people. Intralipid is given as an infusion either at the Lister Fertility Clinic, or at home, like IVIg.
You may have mild side effects from the infusion, like headaches, nausea and vomiting. However, there are some concerns over more serious problems including allergic reactions and infection.5 Your doctor will explain these risks to you.
Where can I have reproductive immunology treatments?
Lister Fertility Clinic
Chelsea Bridge Road SW1W 8RH London
Lister Fertility Clinic at The Portland Hospital
First Floor 215 Great Portland Street W1W 5PN London
Lister Fertility Clinic at The Beaconsfield Clinic
Little Hall Barn Windsor End, Beaconsfield HP9 2JW Buckinghamshire
Lister Fertility Clinic at The Shard
The Shard Outpatients St Thomas Street SE1 9BS London
Accessing private health care
Self-pay
You don’t need health insurance to be seen quickly. If you’re looking for treatment and don’t want to wait, all of our fertility treatments can be paid for as and when you need them.
And to give you peace of mind from the start, we’ll provide you with a clear and transparent quote outlining exactly what’s included in your self-pay package.
Your questions answered
A fertility add-on is an optional extra, such as reproductive immunology treatments, that you may be offered on top of your normal fertility treatment, often at an additional cost. They’re typically emerging techniques, that may have shown some promising results in initial studies but haven’t necessarily been proven to improve pregnancy or birth rates.
The Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the independent regulator of fertility treatment and research for the UK. It uses a rating system to assess add-on treatments. To see HFEA’s ratings and guidance for add-on treatments, including reproductive immunology, please click here.
Yes, there are. Other tests involve looking at the NK cells in the womb lining (uterine NK cells), but these tests are more invasive. There are also issues involved with collecting uterine NK cells, which reduce the accuracy of these tests.4,5 For this reason, we don’t offer them at Lister Fertility Clinic.
It’s important to note that this is an experimental area of fertility medicine, so how we look at test results may change in the future as we find out more.
You can find the prices of all our services, including full NK screening, here.
We don’t have a waiting list, so our team will fit you in as soon as possible at a time and date that suits you.
- Muter J, Lynch VJ, McCoy RC, Brosens JJ. Human embryo implantation. Development 2023;150(10):dev201507. doi: 10.1242/dev.201507.
- Thum MY, Bhaskaran S, Abdalla HI, et al. An increase in the absolute count of CD56dimCD16+CD69+ NK cells in the peripheral blood is associated with a poorer IVF treatment and pregnancy outcome. Hum Reprod 2004;19(10):2395-400. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deh378.
- ESHRE Working Group on Recurrent Implantation Failure. Cimadomo D, de los Santos MJ, Griesinger G, et al. ESHRE good practice recommendations on recurrent implantation failure. Hum Reprod Open 2023(3). doi: 10.1093/hropen/hoad023.
- Von Woon E, Greer O, Shah N, et al. Number and function of uterine natural killer cells in recurrent miscarriage and implantation failure: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod Update 2022;28(4):548-582. doi: 10.1093/humupd/dmac006.
- Immunological tests and treatments for fertility. Human Fertilisation & Embryology Authority. Available from: https://www.hfea.gov.uk/treatments/treatment-add-ons/immunological-tests-and-treatments-for-fertility/, accessed 14 May 2024.
Our patients' fertility stories
How Lister Fertility Clinic helped two fathers-to-be
Paul is sitting in his home in Belfast, with his husband Neil and their beautiful three-month-old son Felix, talking about their journey to fatherhood – a journey that the Lister Fertility Clinic, part of HCA Healthcare UK, accompanied them on.
Clare’s fertility treatment
Clare and her husband Derek thought they might never have children, until joining the egg-sharing programme at the Lister Fertility Clinic.
Alice and Aaron's fertility treatment
After being told they’d never have children, Alice and Aaron turned to the Lister Fertility Clinic. They now have a beautiful two-year-old daughter.
“My husband and I came to Lister Fertility Clinic for a Fit for Fertility test and met with Dr Benjamin Jones to discuss the results. At no point did we feel rushed or that we couldn't ask hundreds of questions. He was incredible… a true professional.”
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This content is intended for general information only and does not replace the need for personal advice from a qualified health professional.