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In infertile couples where women have blocked or
absent fallopian tubes, or where men have low sperm
counts, in vitro fertilization (IVF) offers a chance
at parenthood to couples who until recently would
have had no hope of having a "biologically
related" child.
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In IVF,
eggs are surgically removed from the ovary and mixed
with sperm outside the body in a Petri dish ("in
vitro" is Latin for "in glass").
After about 40 hours, the eggs are examined to see
if they have become fertilized by the sperm and
are dividing into cells. These fertilized eggs (embryos)
are then placed in the women's uterus, thus bypassing
the fallopian tubes. IVF has received a great deal
of media attention since it was first introduced
in 1978, but it actually accounts for less than
five percent of all infertility treatment in our
country.
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