Welcome to David Obi's Blog: ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE TECHNOLOGY

Assisted reproductive technology(ART) refers to a number of different procedures that can be used to overcome both male and female fertility problems. It has to do with any treatment that involves removing, mixing and replacing the sperm and egg. ART procedures account for over 30,000 live births annually. They are often used when other simpler treatments have failed, more when the couples face actual factor infertility, ovulation problems, ejaculatory problems, ejaculatory dysfunction or unexplained infertility.

TYPES OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTIVE THERAPIES

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection(ICSI):

is an extremely advanced procedure in which reproductive specialists isolate one of the sperm from the mate partner with which to fertilize one of the eggs. Once the sperm fertilizes the ovum(egg), the embryo is allowed to develop for few days and is then implanted into the uterus of the female partner at an appropriate time of her cycle. A success rate for this treatment is generally 20% per cycle.

Zygote intrafallopian transfer(ZIFT):

Eggs and sperms are collected from the woman and her partner. These are mixed in tiny plastic cylinders that are similar to straws. Fertilization takes place. Once fertilization has taken place, and a zygote is formed, the fertilized egg is surgically implanted into the tubes. It is also called the tubal embryo transfer(TET). Success rate for ZIFT are slightly higher than those produced by GIFT which is discussed below and associated with a life birth rate of 29%.

Gamete intrafallopian transfer(GIFT):

Here the ova that are harvested are aspirated into a catheter containing prepared sperm. These are then mixed in tiny plastic cylinders. The mixture is then transferred into the fallopian tube where fertilization can take place. One requisite for this particular procedure is that the woman (or female) must have at least one patent fallopian tube. Success rates are high with a 24% live birth rate per cycle.

Invitro fertilization:

This is relatively common procedure that is employed when the woman has absent or blocked fallopian tubes, when the man has low sperm count or when the cause of infertility is unknown. The procedure begins with fertility drugs (that stimulate ovulation) being administered to the woman. After harvesting one or more egg from the ovary, the eggs are fertilized by sperm in the laboratory and placed in a growth medium, where they are allowed to develop for 2-3days after which the embryos are then transferred to the uterus. This method brought about the delivery of Louise Brown, the first successful birth of a “test tube baby” in 1978. Success rate 25.35% per cycle.