Question

After a brief medical examination a healthy couple came to know that both of them are unable to produce functional gametes and should look for an ‘ART’ (Assisted Reproductive Technique). Name the ‘ART’ and the procedure involved that you can suggest to them to help them bear a child.

Answer 1

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. This subject involves procedures such as in vitro fertilization, intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), cryopreservation of gametes or embryos and the use of fertility medication.

Complete step by step answer: Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) is an infertility treatment and is a type of ART technique that is carried out when a blockage in the fallopian tubes prevents the normal binding of sperm to the egg. Egg cells are removed from a woman's ovaries and are in-vitro fertilized. The resulting zygote is placed into the fallopian tube by the use of laparoscopy. The average ZIFT cycle takes five weeks-six weeks to complete. First, the female must take a fertility medication clomiphene to stimulate egg production in the ovaries. The doctor will monitor the growth of the ovarian follicles, and once they are mature, the woman will receive an injection containing human chorionic gonadotropins (HCG or hCG). The eggs will be harvested approximately 36 hours later, usually by transvaginal ovum retrieval. After fertilization in the laboratory, the resulting early embryos or zygotes are placed into the woman's fallopian tubes.

Note: ZIFT has been used in infertility situations where at least one of the fallopian tubes is normal and other treatments have failed and both of them in a couple are unable to produce functional gametes. However, the need for two interventions and the fact that IVF results are equal or better leaves few indications for this procedure.