What are the benefits of assisted reproductive technology?

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) are effective treatments for infertility issues. During the treatment, the woman's egg is removed from the body and combined with sperm to make embryos which are then transferred back into the woman's body.

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Types of assisted reproductive technology
In vitro fertilization (IVF)
Intrafallopian Transfer
Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
Getting Started with ART

ART procedures can also use donor eggs, donor sperm, or even donated embryos for successful fertilization. It may also involve a gestational carrier or a surrogate. Notably, the most effective type of ART procedure today is in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Types of assisted reproductive technology

There are many types of assisted reproductive technology methods that leverage different reproductive cells and techniques. The ideal ART depends on your specific circumstances.

Some of the commonly used ART include:

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

As mentioned earlier, IVF is the most popular and effective ART today, accounting for 99% of all ART procedures. IVF involves extracting eggs and fertilizing them. During the procedure, fertility physicians combine the egg and sperm before transferring the resulting embryos into the uterus via an embryo transfer (IVF-ET). The benefits of IVF include:

High success rate: IVF helps many patients who would otherwise be unable to conceive. This includes women with block tubes, older patients, people with polycystic ovary syndrome, and premature ovarian failure.

Safe track record: Since IVF has been used for several years, it offers a safe track record. IVF was first introduced in the 1970s, and since then, it has advanced its technology and techniques to create safer and more successful treatments.

Works when other treatments fail: A doctor may recommend IVF if it is determined other fertility treatments are less likely to work based on an infertility diagnosis. IVF is ideal for severe diagnoses such as severe male infertility factor, blocked fallopian tube, advanced maternal age and more.

Can be used by anybody: IVF is not restricted to the baby's mother. It can be used by a surrogate or gestational carrier, thus enabling a range of people to become parents and participate in the pregnancy experience.

Intrafallopian Transfer

Intrafallopian transfer works similarly to IVF but leverages laparoscopic surgery to deliver gametes directly to the fallopian tube. Some people may prefer this method due to religious reasons or if their insurance only covers this type of ART. Types of intrafallopian transfers include:

Gamete intrafallopian transfer(GIFT): GIFT involves collecting sperm and eggs in a tube after which specialists place gametes directly into the fallopian tube using laparoscopic surgery. Because it doesn't involve an IVF procedure, you cannot choose the embryo to transfer.

Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT): ZIFT combines GIFT and ZIFT. Doctors collect and simulate eggs via IVF methods. They then mix the sperm and eggs in the laboratory before returning the fertilized egg to the fallopian tube.

Ideally, because Intrafallopian transfers involve surgeries, there is a risk of complications from surgery and organ puncture. It is also more expensive than IVF.

Frozen Embryo Transfer (FET)

Frozen embryo transfer involves thawing IVF frozen embryos and transferring them to a woman's uterus. FET has gained some popularity in the USA, with a recent study revealing about 52% of people who had FET had successful ongoing pregnancies. However, experts reveal there could be an increased risk of preterm birth with FET. Another risk with this method is that some frozen embryos may be damaged by the thawing process. However, these risks are rare, making FET the most common and most successful form of IVF today.

Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)

ICSI is a technique that embryo specialists may perform alongside IVF. It involves injecting a single sperm directly into the center of an egg using a tiny needle. ICSI can fertilize between 50–80% of eggs and could be ideal for persons with sperm-related infertility. Since ICSI is usually an add-on procedure to IVF, it can be more expensive than IVF alone. ICSI is becoming the standard for IVF because of how much it increases success rates, and ultimately lowers the cost of your IVF journey.

Getting Started with ART

There are several types of ART available to treat infertility. The success rate of the method you choose varies depending on several factors, including your age and health. ART involves a lot of research, and specialists usually weigh the risks, benefits, and costs before recommending the technique. Have further questions on assisted reproductive technology? Learn more about fertility here.

ART can alleviate the burden of infertility on individuals and families, but it can also present challenges to public health as evidenced by the high rates of multiple delivery, preterm delivery, and low birth-weight delivery experienced with ART. Monitoring the outcomes of technologies that affect reproduction, such as contraception and ART, has become an important public health activity.

CDC’s Division of Reproductive Health has a long history of surveillance and research in women’s health and fertility, adolescent reproductive health, and safe motherhood. In response to congressional mandate, CDC began work to strengthen existing data collection efforts initiated by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM)external icon and the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART)external icon and to develop a national system for monitoring ART use and outcomes.

In 1997, CDC submitted to Congress the first annual report, titled Assisted Reproductive Technology Success Rates: National Summary and Fertility Clinic Reports. This report gained a wide audience, including potential ART patients and their families, policy makers, researchers and health care providers. Maternal and child health professionals, as well as state and local public health departments, also began requesting data on birth outcomes among infants born using ART technologies in their localities. In 2002, CDC prepared the first ART surveillance report on ART use and outcomes by state. The ART Surveillance Summary is now published as a supplement to CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Learn more about National ART Surveillance.

Assisted reproduction offers hope to patients who want children but are unable to have a child without medical assistance. In many cases, patients who seek assistance have been repeatedly frustrated in their attempts to have a child and are psychologically very vulnerable. Patients whose health insurance does not cover assisted reproductive services may also be financially vulnerable. Candor and respect are thus essential for ethical practice.

“Assisted reproductive technology” is understood as all treatments or procedures that include the handling of human oocytes or embryos. It encompasses an increasingly complex range of interventions—such as therapeutic donor insemination, ovarian stimulation, ova and sperm retrieval, in vitro fertilization, gamete intrafallopian transfer—and may involve multiple participants.

Physicians should increase their awareness of infertility treatments and options for their patients. Physicians who offer assisted reproductive services should:

Value the well-being of the patient and potential offspring as paramount.
Ensure that all advertising for services and promotional materials are accurate and not misleading.
Provide patients with all of the information they need to make an informed decision, including investigational techniques to be used (if any); risks, benefits, and limitations of treatment options and alternatives, for the patient and potential offspring; accurate, clinic-specific success rates; and costs.
Provide patients with psychological assessment, support and counseling or a referral to such services.
Base fees on the value of the service provided. Physicians may enter into agreements with patients to refund all or a portion of fees if the patient does not conceive where such agreements are legally permitted.
Not discriminate against patients who have difficult-to-treat conditions, whose infertility has multiple causes, or on the basis of race, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation or gender identity.
Participate in the development of peer-established guidelines and self-regulation.