What are the Assisted Reproductive Technologies?
Assisted reproductive technology is one way to handle Infertility. It encompasses fertility procedures that deal with both sperm and eggs. It does not cover practices of sperm handling. Also, it does include therapies in which a woman takes medication to increase egg production without planning to have her eggs extracted. Fertility procedures working with eggs or embryos come under Assisted Reproductive Technologies umbrella.
Types of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Do you know there are five types of Assisted Reproductive Technologies?
Read below to have an understanding of every type.
1. In-Vitro Fertilization
- Healthcare practitioners thwart the interaction of sperm and egg for various reasons. Assisted reproduction is used in IVF to unite a woman’s eggs and a man’s sperm outside the body in a lab dish.
- Inserting one or more fertilized eggs into the woman’s uterus, where they may mature and set up shop in the uterine lining, is possible. Cryopreservation (freezing) of extra embryos is an option for later use.
- Women with obstructed, damaged, or nonexistent fallopian tubes were the first patients treated with IVF. Best IVF center treats various infertility conditions, such as endometriosis and male factor.
2. Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer
- A three-step process is called an intrafallopian gamete transfer. Egg fertilization takes place here. It entails removing the eggs, combining them with sperm, and then putting the combined ovum and sperm right into the fallopian tubes.
- Follicle-stimulating medications are administered to improve the woman’s likelihood of producing several eggs.
- In the fallopian tubes, the mixed egg and sperm mixture is inserted using laparoscopy.
- The possibility of an intrafallopian gamete transfer is only available if the woman’s uterus and fallopian tubes are in good condition.
3. Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer
- The fertilized embryo is placed into the fallopian tube rather than the uterus with zygote intrafallopian transfer. Tubal embryo transfer is another name for the operation because the fertilized egg is put straight into the tubes.
An assisted reproduction technique called Intrafallopian zygote transfer entails the following steps:
- A woman’s ovaries are stimulated with medicines to boost the likelihood of developing several eggs. Following that, the healthcare practitioner extracts eggs using an aspiration technique.
- Except for the timing, the eggs are fertilized in a lab using a process similar to IVF treatment. Instead of taking 3-5 days in a typical IVF cycle, fertilized egg transplantation occurs via this process within 24 hours.
- A catheter is inserted deep inside the fallopian tube, and the practitioner injects fertilized eggs. The transfer of fertilized eggs occurs with laparoscopic surgery.
- The last stage is to watch for signs of early pregnancy. The fertility specialist will likely do a blood test to determine whether pregnancy has happened.
4. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection
- During intracytoplasmic sperm injection, a single live sperm is injected right into the center of a human egg. This method aids in fertilization for couples or couples who suffer from severe male factor infertility.
- A woman’s ovaries are stimulated with medicines to boost the likelihood of developing several eggs. After being detected by vaginal ultrasonography, these eggs are taken out through the vagina and incubated in an embryology facility under controlled circumstances. The preparation of the semen sample is completed by spinning the sperm cells through a particular media.
- By doing this, most dead sperm and detritus are separated from live sperm. After that, the embryologist inserts the single living sperm into the egg using a glass needle.
5. Artificial Insemination
- To inject cleaned sperm directly into the uterus during artificial insemination, a thin, flexible catheter is inserted through the cervix.
- Many sperm perish during a sexual activity during natural insemination before they ever approach the uterus. The likelihood that some sperm will successfully reach the fallopian tubes, where egg fertilization occurs, increases as sperm in the uterus grows during ovulation.
- A known or unidentified sperm donor, the woman’s husband or partner, or a third party may donate the sperm utilized in artificial insemination.
- Since the sperm must pass through the cervix for fertilization, women with cervix problems such as scarring, endometriosis-related cervical obstruction, or thick cervical mucus can also benefit from artificial insemination.
Assisted Reproductive Technologies Advancements
1. In Vitro fertilization Advancements
- According to some, the two most promising technology developments that can democratize access to IVF shortly are automation and the miniaturization of IVF laboratories.
- With the help of unique methodologies, much advancement has already been made toward automating these distinct processes.
2. Laboratory Advancements: In Vitro Maturation
- Regulated ovarian hyper stimulation enhances the number of oocytes available for IVF. It entails several gonadotropin injections and repeated trips to the fertility clinic for transvaginal ultrasounds and measurements of circulating hormone levels.
- Recent developments in portable, more affordable ultrasound instruments could make follicular and endometrial monitoring easier, allowing for self-contained endovaginal telemonitoring.
3. Cryopreservation Advancements
- The ART (Regulation) Act 2021 states that the eggs and sperms may be kept in storage indefinitely if they are cryopreserved for self-use.
- Women’s eggs are swiftly retrieved and matured outside the body during the in-vitro maturation technique. It is carried out as a component of IVF therapy.
4. Embryo Evaluation Advancements
- The more conventional to the most cutting-edge technological embryo selection techniques have progressed during the last three decades. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, Preimplantation genetic screening, and pronuclear morphology analysis are some of the most current methods for choosing embryos.
- Nevertheless, the most conventional approach to selecting embryos continues to be popular, notwithstanding the accessibility of these contemporary methods for the visual evaluation of embryo morphology.
Conclusion
Assisted reproductive technology provides several advantages but has also generated controversy among many religious and ethnic groups. Preimplantation genetic testing, which examines the genetic makeup of embryos, lowers miscarriage rates among couples with known genetic disorders and in couples who have experienced recurrent miscarriages.
People can arrange and time their pregnancies according to their preferences with assisted reproductive technology. They can also preserve their eggs or embryos through cryopreservation. India’s Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Act, which governs assisted reproductive technology services nationwide, was published in January 2022 to address this issue formally.
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