Treatments For Infertility

Stimulation ovulation is when ovulation is stimulated by drugs that prevent the negative feedback effect of oestrogen on FSH secretion Other ovulatory drugs mimic that action of FSH and LH. These drugs can result in multiple births or be used to collect ova for in vitro fertilisation (IVF) programmes

Artificial insemination is particularly useful when the male has a low sperm count Several semen samples are collected. If a partner is sterile a donor may be useful to provide semen. Semen is inserted directly into the female reproductive tract by means other than sexual intercourse e.g. syringe

If mature sperm are defective or very low in number, ICSI can be used The head of the sperm is drawn into a needle and injected directly into the egg to achieve fertilisation

During IVF eggs are fertilised outside the body There is surgical removal of eggs from ovaries after hormone stimulation and the eggs are then mixed with sperm in a culture dish. The fertilised eggs are incubated until they age formed at least 8 eggs and are then transferred to the uterus for implantation IVF is used in conjunction with pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to identify single gene disorders and chromosomal abnormalities