Question

Suggest some methods to assist infertile couples to have children.

Answer 1

ART (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) is a term that describes several different methods used to help infertile couples. ART involves removing eggs from a woman’s body, mixing them with sperm in the laboratory and putting the embryos back into a woman’s body.
Success rates vary depending on many factors. Some factors that affect the success rate of ART include the age of the partners, the reason for infertility, the type of ART, and whether the egg is fresh or frozen. Various methods are now available to help such couples: in vitro fertilization, gamete intra-fallopian transfer, intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection, and artificial insemination.

1. Test tube babies: The union of ovum and sperm occurs outside the woman’s body, resulting in a zygote that divides into an embryo. The embryo is deposited in the uterus and eventually grows into a foetus.
2. Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer (GIFT): A procedure in which eggs are retrieved from a woman, mixed with sperm and immediately replaced in one or other of the woman’s fallopian tubes so that they fertilize inside the body (invivo).
3. Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI): In this method, sperm and eggs are retrieved from both parents. A single sperm is injected directly into an egg; then, the fertilized egg is implanted into the woman’s uterus.
4. Artificial insemination technique (AIT): In this technique, the semen is collected either from the husband or a healthy donor and is artificially introduced either into the vagina or into the uterus of the female (IUI - Intra uterine insemination).
5. Zygote intra fallopian transfer (ZIFT): ZIFT later transfers the zygote or early embryo to a woman’s fallopian tube.