An Introduction to In-Vitro Fertilization-Embryo Transfer (IVF-ET)

I. What is IVF-ET?

“In-vitro” refers to taking place outside of a living organism, most often thought of in a test tube. “Fertilization” refers to the union of the female gamete, an egg, and the male gamete, sperm, to produce a zygote/embryo¹. Thus, IVF simply refers to the method of joining egg and sperm outside of the body.

Embryo transfer is often assumed when individuals use the term “IVF,” however embryo transfer is a distinct process in which the embryo is physically transferred into a woman’s uterus.

II. What is the process of IVF-ET?

1. Egg and sperm collection: women will undergo ovarian stimulation in which she will take medications to maximize the number of mature follicles/eggs available for retrieval. Once eggs are mature, she will undergo a minor surgical procedure in which eggs are harvested.
2. In-vitro fertilization: egg is fertilized by sperm using either conventional insemination or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).
3. In-vitro growth: the child will usually grow and develop for several days, most typically 3 or 5 days before embryo transfer or cryopreservation. It is at this time that most children are cryopreserved and genetically tested (PGT).
4. Embryo transfer: after taking hormonal therapy for ovarian stimulation, a woman will need to take hormonal therapy to prepare her uterus for the embryo transfer. The most commonly used medications are estrogen and progesterone variants.
5. Cryopreservation: if children are directly transferred to a woman’s uterus after several days of development (and thus not frozen), the cycle is referred to as a fresh embryo transfer cycle. Most of the time, however, children are frozen (cryopreserved) and then subsequently thawed to be transferred in what is referred to as a frozen embryo transfer cycle.

III. What happens to cryopreserved children?

1. Transferred into their mother’s uterus in a subsequent cycle
2. “Discarded” which more accurately can be stated as murdered
3. “Donated to science” which nearly always results in the death of the child and constitutes child experimentation
4. Placed for adoption to be transferred into a non-biological mother’s uterus

Notes
¹a zygote is a fertilized ovum; it is a diploid cell meaning it has two sets of chromosomes, one from the mother and one from the father; it is the resultant cell from the joining of an egg and a sperm; an embryo, according to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), refers to the stage of development from fertilization up until 8 weeks post-fertilization. After 8 weeks, the child would be considered a fetus.

Picture credit: https://www.arcfertility.com/how-is-ivf-done-step-by-step/