Q.Suggest some methods to assist infertile couples to have children.

Infertility affects many couples, but modern medicine offers several assisted reproductive technologies to help them conceive. The most widely used method is in vitro fertilisation (IVF), where fertilisation happens outside the body in a laboratory—doctors collect eggs from the woman and sperm from the man, allow fertilisation to occur in a culture dish, and then transfer the resulting embryo into the uterus. When the problem lies with the male partner producing insufficient or poor-quality sperm, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) can be used: a single sperm is directly injected into the egg to achieve fertilisation. …

Infertility affects a significant number of couples worldwide, and modern medicine has developed several techniques to help them conceive. These methods fall under the umbrella of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), which involves handling gametes (sperm and eggs) or embryos outside the body to facilitate pregnancy. The choice of method depends on the specific cause of infertility—whether it lies with the male partner, the female partner, or both.

When infertility is due to problems in the male partner—such as low sperm count, poor sperm motility, or inability to inseminate naturally—Artificial Insemination (AI) offers a solution. In this technique, semen is collected and introduced directly into the female reproductive tract. If the husband's sperm is viable, the procedure is called Artificial Insemination by Husband (AIH). When the husband's sperm is inadequate or absent, semen from a healthy donor can be used, termed Artificial Insemination by Donor (AID). The semen is typically placed in the vagina or cervix (intracervical insemination) or directly into the uterus (intrauterine insemination, IUI) to increase the chances of fertilization.

For more complex cases, particularly when the female partner cannot produce viable eggs or when fertilization fails to occur naturally, several advanced techniques are available:

• In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is perhaps the most well-known ART method. Here, eggs are collected from the woman's ovaries and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory dish (in vitro means "in glass"). The resulting embryos are cultured for a few days, and one or more healthy embryos are then transferred into the woman's uterus. Babies born through this method are popularly called "test-tube babies," though the term is a misnomer since the entire process doesn't occur in a test tube.

• Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a specialized form of IVF used when male infertility is severe. A single sperm is directly injected into the cytoplasm of an egg using a fine needle. This bypasses many of the natural barriers to fertilization and is particularly useful when sperm count is extremely low or sperm cannot penetrate the egg on their own.

When the problem lies in the fallopian tubes or the uterine environment, gamete or embryo transfer techniques can help:

• Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer (GIFT) involves collecting eggs and sperm and immediately placing them together into the woman's fallopian tube. Fertilization then occurs naturally inside the body. This method requires at least one functional fallopian tube. …