IVF treatment is based on collecting eggs from the woman's ovaries and fertilising them with the man's sperm in the laboratory by specialised embryology staff.

To produce more eggs than the single egg normally produced in each cycle, a special hormonal drug treatment is given to the woman to stimulate her ovaries to produce on average 6-8 eggs. During drug treatment the woman is monitored with ultrasound scans to assess the time at which the eggs are mature and ready for fertilisation. The average time required to complete the preparation of the eggs for retrieval is 12-14 days of treatment. 
Egg retrieval is performed transvaginally, under light sedation, lasts a few minutes, and fertilisation begins a few hours later after the sperm has been processed and enriched. About 24 hours later the embryologist checks under the microscope how many eggs have fertilised normally, and the next day re-examines how many of the fertilised eggs have started to divide normally. Of these normally fertilised and dividing embryos, one or two are selected and transferred into the uterus two or three days after egg retrieval. Embryo transfer is a brief procedure that does not require anaesthesia and is performed under ultrasound guidance to confirm the exact point of placement within the woman's uterus. After 2 weeks a pregnancy test is done with a blood test. During the treatment to prepare and retrieve the eggs the woman may continue to work normally, while after embryo transfer it is recommended that she rests during the first few days and avoids strenuous physical activity in order to maximise the chances of conception.