Infertility affects approximately 15% of couples in North America due to issues like low sperm counts, hormone imbalances, or damage to eggs or sperm. Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) allow many infertile couples to conceive, including artificial insemination (AI), in vitro fertilization (IVF), gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT), and intracytoplasmic sperm injection. IVF involves collecting eggs and sperm and fertilizing the egg in a petri dish before implanting the embryo in the woman's uterus, while GIFT and intracytoplasmic sperm injection directly inject gametes or embryos in the body. ART can help couples conceive when natural conception is impossible due to issues with the

1. 6E: ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE
TECHNOLOGY

2. Assisted Reproductive
Technologies
 Infertility is the inability of a couple to have a
baby
 Approx. 15% of couple in North America
experience infertility
 There can be several causes of infertility:
 Too few sperm produced
 Hormone imbalances
 Problems with the reproductive structures
 Damage to eggs or sperm by other medical teatments
 Assisted reproductive technologies allow
infertile couples to have a baby

3. Female Reproductive System

4. Male Reproductive System

5. Artificial Insemination (AI)
 Technique originally developed for selective
breeding of livestock
 Sperm from the woman's partner or a sperm
donor is injected into the cervix or uterus.
 A.I. is performed just before the ovulation (egg
released)
 This method is used when the infertility is
caused by issues with the male partners
sperm or if there is no male partner.

6. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
 “Test tube babies”
 In vitro means in glass (petri dish)
 Woman receives hormone treatments to increase
the number of eggs released
 Eggs are collected and fertilized with partner or
donor sperm in a petri dish
 Fertilized zygote is allowed to begin dividing in
petri dish
 Developing embryo is implanted into the woman’s
uterine lining (or into surrogate)
 Pregnancy proceeds as normal

7. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)
 This method is used when structural problems
in the woman’s reproductive system prevent
the egg and sperm from meeting
 May also be used in cases
where the woman has stored
eggs prior to damaging
medical treatments

8. Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer
(GIFT)
 Eggs and sperm are collected as with IVF, but
then injected directly into the woman’s
fallopian tubes so fertilization occurs inside the
body
 Used when male has
low sperm count or
sperm with poor motility
or if a couple has moral
objections to IVF

9. Intracytoplasmic Sperm
Injection
 Similar process to IVF, but sperm is injected
directly into the egg to ensure fertilization
occurs
 Zygote is then implanted into woman’s uterus

10. Concerns with ART
 Higher risk or birth defects/multiple births
 Donor sperm – anonymous genetic father
 Extra embryos left over after IVF – stem cell
research
 Genetic screening of embryos vs. amniocentesis