Assisted reproductive technology involves removing eggs from a womens body, mixing them with sperm in the laboratory, growing them for 3-5 days in the laboratory
and placing the embryos inside the uterus.
Initially, IVF was only used when the woman had blocked, damaged, or absent fallopian tubes (tubal factor infertility). Today, IVF is used to circumvent infertility caused by practically any problem, including endometriosis; immunological problems; unexplained infertility; and male factor infertility. It is a final common pathway, since it allows the doctor to bypass nature's hurdles and overcome its inefficiency, so that we can give Nature a helping hand!
Patients who stand a very poor chance of success with IVF are elderly women, whose ovaries are failing. However, there is no upper age limit at which IVF should not be done. And, in fact, for older women, it might represent their only chance of achieving pregnancy. It's not really the age of the woman which is the limiting factor; it's the quality of her eggs.
The Basic steps include:
1.Ovarian stimulation.
2.egg retrieval under trans vaginal ultrasound guidance.
3.Fertilization and embryo culture in a incubator.
4.Embryo transfer.