The ART Procedures, or Assisted Reproductive Technologies, is a term used to describe a wide variety of fertility treatment techniques that are used in fertility medicine today. ART procedures are very effective these days, and even though they are usually combined with traditional fertility drugs as well, their success rates are very high. As many as one in three cycles of ART will end in the birth of a healthy baby. Here are a few of the types of ART procedures that are popular today. Claim Your 20 Free Pregnancy Tests – Click Here
IVF is probably the most well known of the ART procedures. It has been around the longest, and it is still the most popular treatment method used today. The IVF process is simple: eggs combined with sperm in a lab setting, and are then fertilized. The embryos are left to develop on their own for three to five days before being implanted back into the uterus to grow and develop.
GIFT has decreased in popularity over the years, as IVF has become the treatment method of choice. IVF has a greater success rate than GIFT does. GIFT consists of eggs and sperm being combined in a lab setting, and then being injected into the fallopian tubes using a tiny thin needle. With GIFT, the embryo implants naturally, and fertilization happens on its own, inside the body, rather than outside of the body in the lab.
ZIFT is a procedure much like GIFT, and it is also not as popular as it once was, due to the overwhelming success of IVF. Similiar to GIFT in that the egg and sperm are combined and then injected into the tubes, ZIFT has one main difference. This difference is the fact that the embryos are not injected into the fallopian tubes until after fertilization has occurred.
ICSI is a unique ART procedure, since it doesn’t involve the use of many sperm. Quite the opposite, in fact. In ICSI, a single sperm is placed inside the egg through a needle. After the egg is fertilized, it will be placed inside the uterus by a fertility doctor.
Donor gametes refer to the use of donor eggs or donor sperm. It is one of the more expensive ART treatments. With donor gametes, a donor egg can be used with the father’s sperm, or donor sperm can be used with the mother’s egg. Also, donor sperm and egg can both be used in some cases.
Surrogates are by far the most expensive ART treatment available today. Surrogates are implanted with another couple’s embryo, and carries the baby to term before giving it to the parents. Surrogates are often used as a last resort in ART treatments since they are so risky and also very expensive.
Comments