IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF)

An assisted reproduction method that involves removing eggs from the ovaries and fertilizing them with sperm in the laboratory. The resulting embryos are transferred after 2 to 5 days of incubation to the maternal uterus.

There are many factors that impede the union between sperm and egg. Thus, IVF tries to promote this union in the laboratory. Initially, IVF was used to treat women with obstructed or damaged tubes or without tubes. Currently, IVF is applied in many infertility conditions, such as endometriosis, sperm abnormalities or in cases of infertility with no apparent cause.

The steps of IVF are stimulation of the ovaries with specific medications, aspiration of eggs from the ovaries, fertilization of the egg with a sperm, culture of the embryos and embryo transfer to the mother's uterus.