In vitro fertilization Health Dictionary

A method of treating infertility in which an egg (ovum) is surgically removed from the ovary and fertilized outside the body.

The woman is given a course of fertility drugs to stimulate release of eggs from the ovary. This is followed by ultrasound scanning to check the eggs, which are collected by laparoscopy immediately before ovulation. They are then mixed with sperm in the laboratory. Two, or sometimes more, fertilized eggs are replaced into the uterus. If they become safely implanted in the uterine wall, the pregnancy usually continues normally.

Only about 1 in 10 couples undergoing in vitro fertilization achieves pregnancy at the 1st attempt, and many attempts may be needed before a successful pregnancy is achieved. Modifications of the technique, such as gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), are simpler and cheaper than the original method. in vivo Biological processes occurring within the body. (See also in vitro.)

(IVF) fertilization of an ovum outside the body, the resultant *zygote being incubated to the *blastocyst stage and then implanted in the uterus. The technique, pioneered in Britain, resulted in 1978 in the birth of the first test-tube baby. IVF may be undertaken when a woman has blocked Fallopian tubes, unexplained infertility, endometriosis, or ovulation disorders; it is also carried out for purposes of surrogacy and egg donation. The mother-to-be is given hormone therapy causing a number of ova to mature at the same time (see superovulation). Several of them are then removed from the ovary through a laparoscope. The ova are mixed with spermatozoa and incubated in a culture medium until the blastocyst is formed. The blastocyst is then implanted in the mother’s uterus and the pregnancy proceeds normally. IVF is regulated by the *Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 via the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.