What You Must Know About Assisted Reproductive Treatment
Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT): GIFT was launched as a more ‘natural’ version of IVF. Instead of fertilisation occurring in a culture dish in a laboratory, the woman’s eggs are retrieved from her ovaries and inserted between two layers of sperm in fine tubing.
This tubing is then fed into one of the woman’s fallopian tubes, where the egg and sperm are left to fertilise naturally.
GIFT is no longer commonly used. However, it is sometimes used as an option for couples who don’t want to use IVF for religious reasons, provided that the woman’s fallopian tubes are functioning.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): ICSI is used for the same reasons as IVF, but especially to overcome sperm problems. Essentially, ICSI follows the same process as IVF, except ICSI involves the direct injection of a single sperm into each egg to achieve fertilisation.
Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD): Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) is used to reduce the risk or avoid transmission of a genetic disease or chromosomal abnormality.
PGD can be used by couples who have, or have a family history of, a genetic disease or chromosomal abnormality that they risk passing on to their children.
PGD is also used for couples who have had repeated miscarriages or repeated IVF failure,s and also for women of advanced maternal age (generally over 36 years).
In PGD, embryos are generated through the process of IVF or ICSI, and then one or two cells are removed from the embryo and are screened for a genetic condition.
Embryos unaffected by a particular genetic condition may then be selected for transfer to the woman’s uterus.
What is pre-implantation genetic diagnosis?
Assisted reproductive treatment clinics in Victoria perform PGD to reduce the risk of or to avoid a range of conditions.
Sex selection can be performed in Victoria only to reduce the risk of transmission of a genetic disease or abnormality to a child.
Sex selection may be performed to reduce the risk of transmission of a disorder linked to an X chromosome (such as Muscular Dystrophy or Haemophilia) or for a condition that occurs more frequently in one sex but where the genetic cause is unknown (example: autism).
Aneuploidy is a term used to describe an abnormality in chromosome number (fewer or more of a specific chromosome). Aneuploidy screening is performed in cases of advanced maternal age, repeated IVF failure, recurrent miscarriage, and previous aneuploidy pregnancy.
If there is a disorder that you are particularly concerned about, contact your ART clinic.
Surrogacy: Surrogacy is a form of ART in which a woman (the surrogate) carries a child for another person or couple to give the child to that person or couple after birth. VARTA has a range of resources to assist you.
The information provides a general overview of the various techniques. More information about ART methods can be obtained from Victorian registered ART clinics.
Are you eligible to have treatment?
Eligibility requirements for assisted reproductive treatment in Victoria are outlined in Section 10 of the Assisted Reproductive Treatment Act 2008.
According to the Act, a doctor must be satisfied that: the woman is unlikely to become pregnant other than by a treatment procedure; or the woman is unlikely to be able to carry a pregnancy or give birth to a child without a treatment procedure; or the woman is at risk of transmitting a genetic abnormality or genetic disease to a child born as a result of a pregnancy conceived other than by a treatment procedure, including a genetic abnormality or genetic disease for which the woman’s partner is the carrier.