What is Assisted Reproductive Technology(ART)?
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) are medical procedures used primarily to treat infertility. This technology includes procedures such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). It may include intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryos. Assisted Reproductive Technology(ART) procedures involve the removal of eggs from a woman’s ovaries and combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and them to the woman’s body. The medical risks of ART depend on each specific step of the procedure.
Facts about Assisted Reproductive Technology(ART)
- Assisted reproductive technology (ART) solves the burden of infertility on individuals and families.
- ART procedures sometimes use donor eggs, donor sperm, or previously frozen embryos.
- It can be minimized by limiting the number of embryos put into the woman’s body.
- When selecting an ART program, one should consider some points like:
- Qualifications and experience of Doctor
- Support services available
- Cost and convenience
- Live birth rates per ART cycle
- ART can occur in many procedures like:
- In vitro fertilization-embryo transfer (IVF-ET),
- Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT).
- Frozen embryo transfer (FET).
- Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT).
- Oocyte donation and gestational carriers.
- ART may be recommended when other treatments (such as intrauterine insemination) when failed.
- The world’s first test-tube baby was born in Britain in 1978.
- Up to the Year 2012, approximately 1.5 million ART cycles were being performed annually worldwide.
- The child can have a genetic link to both parents through ART.
- Single parents, heterosexual couples may all work with gestational carriers.
- The first successful IVF was carried out in the UK in 1978 by Edwards RG who is the receiver of the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine.
