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Terminologically In Vitro represents any biological process that is executed outside the organism. In the same way In Vitro Fertility (IVF) refers to the process of fertilizing egg cells by sperm outside the woman’s womb. It is intended for the infertile couples where the fallopian tube of the female partner is either absent or blocked or the male partner is incapable of producing sufficient sperm to fertilize. The process of IVF is generally performed in containers called petri dishes, which are made of either plastic resins or glass. Thus the baby produced in the process is colloquially known as Test Tube Baby.
Dr. Patrick Steptoe and Dr. Robert Edwards were first to develop IVF in United Kingdom and the first so called test tube baby, Louise Brown, was born in England on 25th July, 1978. The process developed afterwards and now it’s almost a general solution to any kind of infertility related problem. To describe the process quite in a simple way we can say that the treatment cycle typically starts on the third day of menstruation. Approximately ten days are used injecting Gonadotropins, which checks the follicular growth. When the follicular maturation is adequate Human Chorionic Gonadotropin that acts as an analogue of Luteinising Hormone, is given. The eggs, produced in this process are retrieved from the ovary using a transvaginal procedure to identify ova. Then the identified eggs are separated to be united with prepared sperm and the fertilization is done in the process known as Insemination.
There are two processes of IVF namely, Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT) and Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer (ZIFT). In GIFT the fertilization is done in the fallopian tubes and in ZIFT the process is done in laboratory. The success of the process is highly dependant on the patient characteristics such as age of the patient, the quality of the eggs and sperm, the health of the uterus, the duration of the infertility and the clinical expertise. The latest report on Fertility and Sterility reveals that the accurately done Acupuncture can improve the success rate of In Vitro Fertility. |
