Invitro fertilization was initially developed in 1978 for women with damaged, blocked or missing fallopian tubes. Today, the IVF procedures are commonly followed to overcome infertility caused by ovulatory problems, sperm issues, endometriosis and other reasons. Each year, more than 15,000 healthy babies are born in the US through successful in vitro fertilization procedure.

How is Invitro Fertilization Procedure carried out?

The IVF procedures involve fertilizing a woman’s eggs (ova) in an artificial environment outside a woman’s body. Using medication the ovaries are stimulated to produce multiple eggs. The eggs are then removed via the vaginal wall and then they are combined with a man’s sperm in the laboratory. The embryo produced through this process is then transplanted into the woman’s uterus with the hope that pregnancy will be achieved successfully. However, results may vary since there are various factors including the quality of the eggs and the age of the woman that determine the pregnancy.

Sometimes, the woman may not have eggs that can be fertilized successfully or she may have been born without reproductive organs or ovaries. There are also cases where the reproductive organs are surgically removed due to cancer or other diseases. In such circumstances, egg donation is the only procedures in in vitro fertilization treatment that can help a woman conceive a child.

Egg or ovule donation is a process where a woman provides up to 10 or 15 egg cells for assisted reproduction purpose. Ovule donation involves the in vitro fertilization procedure as the eggs get fertilized in the laboratory after removal. After the donor donates eggs, her role is complete. Since the donation process is part of the Assisted Reproductive Technology, there are some guidelines laid by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine and the FDA that has to be followed before a woman donates her egg cells.

The invitro fertilization procedure is carried out when other treatments have failed. However, the procedure usually requires more than one cycle to succeed. According to a survey, the birth rate is 30 to 35 percent for each IVF cycle for women under the 35 age group, whereas it is only 10 percent for women at age 40. But, if egg donation procedure is involved the success rate can reach up to 45 percent.

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The mother who gave birth to octuplets identified a Beverly Hills fertility clinic that she said provided in-vitro fertilization for all 14 of her children. (Feb. 9)

Infertility is defined as a male’s or female’s inability or reduced biological ability to contribute to the conception of a child.  More commonly, it is defined as the inability to become pregnant after 12 months of intercourse without birth control.  Infertility may also refer to a woman’s inability to carry a pregnancy to full term.

Infertility affects about 1 in every of couples in their reproductive age.  In the US, approx. 7% of married couples in which the woman was of reproductive age (2.1 million) reported they were not able to get pregnant after trying for one year (2002 National Survey of Family Growth).

In some cases, both the man and woman may be sub-fertile.  In other cases, each partner is each fertile but the couple cannot conceive together without assistance.  In approx. 1/3rd of the cases, the male is infertile, in 1/3rd the female is infertile, and in 1/3rd, it can be either one of them, or the cause is unknown.  In about 15% of cases, investigation will show no abnormalities which can be detected by current methods.

Egg quality is also of critical importance, especially for women of advanced maternal age.  Or it may be a question of the egg not being released at the optimum time for fertilization, or the sperm not being able to reach the egg, or fertilization may fail to occur.

If you are trying to get pregnant, and are considering a fertility treatment, don’t opt immediately for the most advanced and expensive Fertility Treatments, such as IVF, thinking you’ll get pregnant faster.

You have a number of Fertility Treatments available, which include:  fertility drugs, surgery, IVF, GIFT, ZIFT, donor eggs, and surrogacy.  In 85% to 95% of cases, Infertility can be treated with conventional Fertility Treatments, such as drug treatment.  These solutions are more affordable and less invasive than some of the other options.

Here’s an overview of your Fertility Treatment options, ranked from the least to the most invasive:

Fertility drugs:  These drugs can help get a female’s or males reproductive system and hormones in balance.

Artificial Insemination:  Sometimes the male’s sperm needs help getting to the female’s egg.  Placing a dose of sperm in your uterus at the proper time will improve one’s chances of getting pregnant.

Surgery:  Some women have blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis, fibroids, or ovarian cysts, or genetic defects.  A minor surgery, performed with a laparoscope (a fiber-thin tube) can help diagnose the problem.  However, more extensive surgery may be required.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART):  ART can involve the hi-tech In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) or Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI), or in rarer cases, GIFT or ZIFT.  In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of ART have failed.  It involves surgically removing eggs (ova) from a woman’s ovaries, fertilizing them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning them to the woman’s body.  Both Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer and Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer are ART procedures, which involve removing the woman’s eggs, mixing them with the male’s sperm , and implanting them in the woman’s Fallopian tubes.  With ZIFT, fertilization takes place outside the body, and with GIFT, fertilization takes place inside the body.  Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a procedure in which a single sperm (especially donor sperm) is injected directly into an egg.

Egg Donation:  Occasionally, a woman may require to use a egg donor, depending on her age, and egg quality.