This safe, effective drug stimulates the ovaries to produce ova. Surgery is used to correct any defects of the reproductive tract, both in the male and female. With IVF-ET, the ovaries are stimulated with drugs to produce several ripe eggs at the same time. The eggs are then removed, usually under local anaesthesia, using ultrasound to guide a catheter through the vagina into the abdominal cavity. The eggs are incubated under special conditions and then the sperm is added.
Fertilisation occurs in the laboratory, resulting in a test-tube baby.
Next, several of the pre-embryos are placed through the cervix into the uterine cavity. This improves the chance of success but also increases the chances of a multiple pregnancy. With GIFT, the ovaries are stimulated with drugs, but the eggs are removed using a laparoscope. At the same time, a mixture of eggs and sperm is placed into the fallopian tubes. Another recently developed treatment is intracytoplasmic sperm injection, which only requires one sperm to achieve a pregnancy.