Here at The Fertility & Gynaecology Academy in London we see many patients for immune therapy, also known as immunotherapy. Immune therapy is a treatment offered in just a few private fertility clinics in the UK, and is suitable for couples who have been told they have unexplained infertility or who’ve experienced recurrent miscarriage.

We specialise in difficult cases like this – we don’t believe that people are just ‘unlucky’. Although there is of course no guarantee, we feel immune testing can provide answers and hope to couples who have been told there is none.

The immune testing we offer enables us to analyse different aspects of the immune system so that we can identify any problems with its function in making the uterine environment hostile for supporting an embryo. The results of these tests let us tailor the appropriate treatment to help improve the chance of a successful pregnancy.

A recent patient at the clinic, Pardeep Gill, came to Dr Gorgy and The Fertility & Gynaecology Academy for immune therapy after being told she had unexplained infertility. She has been kind enough to share her experience below.

If you have any questions about immune therapy or would like to enquire about booking an initial consultation, please don’t hesitate to call our friendly admin team on 020 7224 1880 or email info@fertility-academy.co.uk.

“Taranjot and I have been together for 5 years. We married in 2014 at age 28 and 29. After three years of focussing on travel and exploring the world, we felt ready to settle down and start trying for a baby.

I was fortunate enough to fall pregnant quite soon after I stopped using contraception. We were delighted, but unfortunately this pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage.

After a short break, we continued trying. It was two years later, without another pregnancy, that we knew something wasn’t quite right. We made the decision to seek advice and see if there was an underlying issue preventing us from becoming parents. Until this point, we’d had no reason to consider that anything might be amiss – we were both young, fit and healthy individuals with no major health concerns.

We initially made an appointment to see our GP where investigations got underway pretty quickly for both of us. After a series of tests, all results came back clear. And, although this sounds like good news, for us it was disappointing; the results didn’t indicate what could be preventing us from becoming pregnant. We were diagnosed with unexplained infertility. This was difficult to hear and we really felt like we needed to know more. I wanted to know why it happened despite all our tests were showing as normal. The NHS were happy for us to go straight to IVF but I wanted a reason for the infertility diagnosis – especially as both Taranjot and I didn’t have any health concerns.

It was only when one of our friends recommended a private consultant specialising in infertility that we decided to look into private healthcare as an option. We made an appointment with Dr Wing, who prescribed herbal medication. But, after another six months, we still weren’t pregnant. Dr Wing carried out a series of blood tests which looked at my natural killer (NK) cells, and also performed a Leukocyte Antibody Detection (LAD) test. The results revealed that my levels of NK cells were too high and LAD levels were far too low. He identified this as a potential reason for our infertility troubles.

From there, it was recommended that we speak to Dr Amin Gorgy at The Fertility & Gynaecology Academy.

When we started seeing Dr Gorgy he reviewed the tests we’d had done previously and confirmed that the root cause of infertility was likely an issue with my immune system. The problem with having high NK cell levels and low leukocyte antibody levels meant that every time I would potentially conceive, the NK cells would attack the foetus and so I wasn’t able to sustain a pregnancy. I also had a TH1/TH2 intra-cellular cytokine ratio test, which revealed I had elevated levels. (This test determines the ratio between the defensive chemicals in the body that cause inflammation and those that calm down the immune system, making the environment in the uterus favourable to the embryos and the pregnancy). Dr Gorgy recommended immune therapy as the best course of action.

I ended up interlinking NHS and private healthcare, having intrauterine insemination – which is far less invasive than IVF – through the NHS and Dr Gorgy then supported that with the immune therapy. The immune therapy consisted of four sessions (immunizations) of lymphocyte immunization therapy (LIT) at the clinic. LIT involved a concentrated solution of live white blood cells from Taranjot being injected into my arms through a series of very shallow injections. I was aware that LIT was considered controversial but really, the risk is the same as that of any other vaccine. The blood donor also goes through really robust infection screening right before the donation. Although larger studies are needed, many small studies do show the benefits of treatment.

Throughout the treatment I underwent frequent blood tests to continually monitor my NK cells and leukocyte antibody levels. The LIT itself involved lots of needles in my arms which wasn’t the most pleasant of experiences, but I’ve had worse! The support from everyone at the clinic really helped, and I cannot fault Dr Gorgy – he always explained everything thoroughly and so we really felt like we knew what was happening throughout.

Courtney in particular was amazing, as was Sharon. Courtney was the nurse who predominantly looked after me during the LIT and IVIg infusion. The team was always there, no question was too small or too much trouble. They really looked after us and did everything they could to make the experience as good as it could be.

Through the immune therapy treatment my NK cell levels have come down substantially and I’m very pleased to say I’m now supporting a pregnancy – due in October 2019! We couldn’t believe it when we heard the news and are over the moon!

As soon as I told Dr Gorgy I was pregnant, he was immediately putting into place plans to ensure our pregnancy was sustained to full term. Since conceiving I’ve had repeat blood tests to ensure my NK cells and leukocyte antibodies are at the correct levels, and I’ve also undergone an IVIg infusion.

It’s not been a typical pregnancy and I’ve not been able to relax completely because it required intervention – but here I am, just over a month away from giving birth to my little miracle.