InVitro Fertilization
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In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) techniques have come a long way since the successful birth of the first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, 24 years ago; in helping infertile couples have children of their own. The IVF process has since been used as a basis for alternative conception techniques such as Gamete Intra Fallopian Transfer (GIFT), Zygote Intra Fallopian Transfer (ZIFT), Intravaginal Culture (IVC) and Ultrasound GIFT. In vitro Fertilization is basically the technique for conception of a human embryo outside the mother's body. Several ova, or eggs, are removed from the mother's body and placed in special laboratory culture dishes; sperm from the male are then added. If fertilization occurs, a fertilized ovum, after undergoing several cell divisions, is either transferred to the mother's or a surrogate mother's body for normal development in the uterus, or frozen for later implantation. First developed by Drs. Patrick C. Steptoe and Robert G. Edwards of Great Britain from Bourn Hall Clinic near Cambridge, the technique was devised for use in cases of infertility when the woman's fallopian tubes are damaged or the man's sperm count is low. It is also now used to enable prospective parents with other reproductive problems to bear a child...