The term Assisted reproductive technology (ART) refers to a group of different technological methods applied to help infertile couples to achieve a pregnancy. It has allowed many couples to have children that otherwise would not have been conceived. The amount of ART-conceived children has been steadily growing since the 1980’s – for example, in 2012 over 150 thousand ART procedures were performed in the US alone.
During an ART procedure a woman’s oocytes are collected, fertilized with her partner’s or a donor’s sperm in a laboratory (in some cases of male-factor infertility TESA/TESE are indicated), and then transferred into her uterus. PGD, which may be used even when the woman/couple do not experience fertility problems (for genetic reasons), as well as embryo and oocyte cryopreservation are also considered to be ARTs.
Assisted reproductive technology includes:
- Intrauterine Insemination (IUI)
- IVF (in Vitro Fertilization)
- Third Party Assisted ART: