Assisted Reproductive Technology

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Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Definition

What Causes Infertility?

Types of Assisted Reproductive Technology

Frequently Asked Questions

Assisted Reproductive Technology
Assisted Reproductive Technology

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) - Definition

ART is a medical technology used to treat infertility and other reproductive issues. It involves the use of medical techniques and procedures to help couples conceive a child. These techniques include in-vitro fertilization (IVF), artificial insemination, and surrogacy.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is a technology used to help people become pregnant through the use of procedures such as in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination, and surrogacy.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is a form of medical treatment used to tackle infertility. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), infertility is defined as the inability to conceive after more than one year without the use of contraception. It can affect both males and females. ART includes procedures such as ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection), IVF (in vitro fertilization), cryopreservation of embryos or gametes, use of fertility medications, and more. When these procedures are used to treat infertility, it is referred to as fertility treatment. Primarily, ART is used to address infertility and reproductive endocrinology, and it also plays a role in surrogacy arrangements.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is used to treat infertility. It involves combining a man’s sperm with a woman’s egg. The process starts by extracting eggs from the woman and then combining it with the sperm to form embryos. These embryos are then placed back into the woman’s body. The most popular and effective ART procedure is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), which follows this same principle.

Several other times, ART techniques involve the use of donor eggs, donor sperms, or embryos that have been frozen previously. In certain cases, these techniques may also include a gestational carrier or surrogate. When a woman conceives with an egg from a female and sperm from a male partner, this is referred to as a surrogate. One of the challenges associated with ART is the occurrence of multiple pregnancies, which can be minimized and prevented by limiting the number of embryos that are inserted into a woman’s body.

What are the causes of Infertility?

Men and women both can suffer from infertility. Some of the possible causes of infertility include:

In Males:

Ejaculatory Disturbances due to Impotence or Ejaculatory Failure

Sperm Count Disorder/Sperm Production - This includes Oligospermia and Azoospermia. In some cases, sperm cells may die before they reach the egg or may be malformed.

Age is one of the major causes of decreased sperm count in males, especially as they get older.

Structural abnormalities can affect the motility or shape of sperm, which can prevent the sperm from binding or swimming towards the egg.

In Females:

Inability of the ovary to produce eggs - Ovulation disorders such as PCOS

Quality of uterine lining - such as endometriosis wherein the womb tissue invades causing damage to the adjacent reproductive tissues.

Structure of Fallopian Tube: Blockage in Tube Preventing the Sperm from Reaching the Egg

Advanced maternal age - The quality of a woman’s egg decreases with age, which can limit her ability to conceive.

Types of Assisted Reproductive Technology

Some commonly used methods of ART include:

  1. In vitro fertilization (IVF) - one of the most common forms of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is IVF. Here fertilization occurs outside the body.

2. Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT) – It involves the transfer of sperm and eggs into the fallopian tube of a woman, where fertilization occurs.

3. Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer (ZIFT) – also known as Tubal Embryo Transfer, is a procedure that is somewhat similar to In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), wherein fertilization takes place outside the body. The young embryo is then inserted into the fallopian tube, rather than the uterus.

4. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) – This technique is typically used when the male partner is infertile. In some cases, it is also used when IVF attempts have failed or for couples who are older. The principle behind this technique is that a single sperm is directly injected into a mature egg, unlike conventional fertilization techniques where the sperm and egg are placed in a petri dish and the sperm fertilizes the egg by itself.

5. Artificial Insemination: Deliberate introduction of sperm into the female’s cervix or uterus to achieve pregnancy without sexual intercourse. It can be of the following types:

Intrauterine Insemination

Intracervical Insemination

Intratubal Insemination

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)?

ART is a term used to describe a range of treatments that involve the handling of both eggs and sperm, or embryos, to help people with fertility problems have a baby. ART includes treatments such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), intrauterine insemination (IUI), and egg and sperm donation.

Assisted reproductive technology is a technology used to attain pregnancy through the usage of procedures such as in vitro fertilization, artificial insemination and surrogacy.

The ICSI full form in biology is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection.

The full form of ICSI is Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection – this is a form of In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).

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