Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART)

Before 1978, an infertile couple had two options: adopt, or remain childless. Today infertile couples have many options to have a child, such as fertility drugs, test-tube babies, artificial insemination, IUI and surrogate motherhood; the special techniques by which a couple can be assisted to have a child are commonly known as Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART).

IVF (In Vitro Fertilization) : It is a process of fertilization in which an egg is combined with sperm outside the body, in a test tube or glass plate, to form a zygote under simulated conditions in the laboratory. The zygote or early embryo (with up to 8 blastomeres) can then be transferred into the fallopian tube for further development.

ZIFT (Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer) : An infertility treatment used when a blockage in the fallopian tubes prevents fertilization of the egg by the sperm. The egg is removed from the woman's ovary, fertilized with sperm outside the body under sterile conditions to form a zygote (by IVF), and the zygote is then transferred into the fallopian tube for further development.

GIFT (Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer) : Transfer of an ovum collected from a donor into the fallopian tube of another female who can provide a suitable environment for its fertilization and development; it was developed for cases where only the entrance to the oviducts, or their upper segment, is blocked. In this procedure, ova and sperm are injected directly into the oviduct, where fertilization produces a blastocyst that then enters the uterus by the normal route; GIFT has a success rate of about 30%.

ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection) : ICSI is an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm cell is injected directly into the cytoplasm of an ovum in the laboratory — unlike ordinary IVF, where the sperm must naturally penetrate the egg.

Artificial Insemination (AI) : In some infertility cases the male partner cannot inseminate the female because of a very low sperm count; this can be solved by artificial insemination, used when the male partner cannot inseminate the female naturally, typically because of a very low sperm count: sperm are collected from the male and introduced artificially into the cervix of the female, aiming to achieve pregnancy through in vivo fertilization (fertilization inside the body).

IUI (Intra Uterine Insemination) : A similar technique, the only difference being that the sperm are introduced into the uterine cavity instead of the cervix.

Sperm bank / Semen bank : A sperm bank or semen bank is a place that collects, stores and supplies human sperm/semen, provided by healthy sperm donors and preserved by cryopreservation (storage at low temperature).

Adoption : Adoption is a legal process by which a couple, or a single parent, gains the legal rights, privileges and responsibilities of raising a child as their own. An adoptive parent must be medically fit and financially able to care for the adopted child, and must be at least 21 years old, though there is no upper age limit for adoption.