Assisted Reproductive Technologies (A.R.T.)

In the last thirty years, an increasing number of women and men have been seeking fertility enhancement with Assisted Reproductive Technology (A.R.T.). Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is a general term referring to methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. The most common methods used currently are in vitro fertilization (IVF), inter-uterine insemination (IUI), in vitro maturation (IVM), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).

IVF is the technique of letting fertilization of the male and female gametes (sperm and egg) occur outside the female body. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova (eggs) from the woman's ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a fluid medium. The fertilised egg (zygote) is then transferred to the patient's uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy. Initially IVF was developed to overcome infertility due to problems of the fallopian tube, but recently it has been used to treat other infertility situations as well. However, for IVF to be successful it requires healthy ova, sperm that can fertilise, and a uterus that can maintain a pregnancy. IVF has become the final solution for most fertility problems when other (less expensive) methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed.

ICSI may be beneficial in the case of male factor infertility where sperm counts are very low or failed fertilization occurred with previous IVF attempt(s). ICSI is a more recent development (used since 1992) associated with IVF.

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