By Our Correspondents
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) includes
all fertility treatments in which both eggs and sperm are handled outside of
the body. In general, ART procedures involve surgically removing eggs from a
woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning
them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman. The main type of
ART is in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Types of ART
Common methods of ART include: In vitro
fertilization (IVF), meaning fertilization outside of the body. IVF is the most
effective and the most common form of ART.
Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) or tubal
embryo transfer – This is similar to IVF. Fertilization occurs in the
laboratory. Then the very young embryo is transferred to the fallopian tube
instead of the uterus.
Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) involves
transferring eggs and sperm into the woman’s fallopian tube. Fertilization
occurs in the woman’s body. Few practices offer GIFT as an option.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is often
used for couples with male factor infertility. Sometimes it is also used for
older couples or for those with failed IVF attempts. In ICSI, a single sperm is
injected into a mature egg as opposed to “conventional” fertilization where the
egg and sperm are placed in a petri dish together and the sperm fertilizes an
egg on its own.
ART procedures sometimes involve the use of donor
eggs (eggs from another woman), donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos.
Donor eggs are sometimes used for women who cannot produce eggs. Also, donor
eggs or donor sperm is sometimes used when the woman or man has a genetic
disease that can be passed on to the baby. An infertile woman or couple may
also use donor embryos. These are embryos that were either created by couples
in infertility treatment or were created from donor sperm and donor eggs. The
donated embryo is transferred to the uterus. The child will not be genetically
related to either parent.
Surrogacy
Women with no eggs or unhealthy eggs might also
want to consider surrogacy. A surrogate is a woman who agrees to become
pregnant using the man’s sperm and her own egg. The child will be genetically
related to the surrogate and the male partner.
Gestational Carrier
Women with ovaries but no uterus may be able to
use a gestational carrier. This may also be an option for women who shouldn’t
become pregnant because of a serious health problem. In this case, a woman uses
her own egg. It is fertilized by her partner’s sperm and the embryo is placed
inside the carrier’s uterus.
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