Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
Assisted Reproductive Technology is a method used to help infertile couples who are trying to have a child. There are no long-term health effects which have been linked to children born using Assisted Reproductive Technology procedures. Most of these procedures involve the removal of eggs from the woman, which are combined with sperm in some manner and eventually returned to the woman’s body after embryos are created or to create embryos.
Different types of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
- In vitro fertilization or IVF – This procedure involves the combination of sperm and eggs in a dish in a laboratory to create embryos. The embryos are then transferred to the woman’s uterus where they may implant in the uterine wall and develop. There are also drugs that are taken to help produce more eggs which will be retrieved.
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI) – Intrauterine insemination is the most ‘natural’ of all ARTs. It’s very effective with couples in which male infertility isn’t a major problem. It can be done with sperm from the male partner or a sperm donor. The sperm are washed to remove the fluid surrounding them and placed in the uterus using a thin flexible tube (catheter) that is passed through the cervix.
- Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) – It is a procedure in which a single sperm in injected into a mature egg. The resulting embryo is then transferred to the woman’s uterus or fallopian tube. This may be used in conjunction with IVF to help overcome cases of male infertility. This process is done through a test tube wherein one sperm is directly injected into an egg to achieve fertilization.
- Zygote intrafallopian transfer or ZIFT – it is a procedure in which eggs are removed and fertilized using sperm from the male in a laboratory. The embryos are then transferred to the fallopian tubes rather than the uterus. Laparoscopy is used to make the transfer.
- Gamete intrafallopian transfer or GIFT – If male factor infertility isn’t a major cause, and if the woman’s tubes and uterus are healthy, this can be a very effective treatment. Women are often given hormones to stimulate egg production. Eggs are removed and sperm is collected and unfertilized eggs and sperm are injected into a woman’s fallopian tubes.
