Infertility is a biological condition when a person is unable to conceive. It is also referred to a condition where a woman is not able to fully cover all the stages of pregnancy to successfully give birth to a child. Two types of infertility are primary infertility when the act of conceiving itself is not possible and secondary infertility is difficulty in conceiving again after once having conceived.

As females age, it naturally becomes harder to conceive until she reaches an age where ovulation stops and she becomes naturally infertile. Other causes could be from tubal blockage, ovulation problems, being over or underweight, uterine problems, tuberculosis (TB), previous vasectomy or tubal ligation.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is used to describe technology that by synthetic means or partly synthetic assist as infertility treatments to help in conceiving. It also includes reproductive techniques that may also involve third parties such as eggs or sperm donors.

Causes of Infertility

There could be many causes of infertility. As females age, it naturally becomes harder to conceive until she reaches an age where ovulation stops and she becomes naturally infertile. Other causes could be from tubal blockage, ovulation problems, being over or underweight, uterine problems, tuberculosis (TB), previous vasectomy or tubal ligation. Infertility could also be a genetic cause with factors such as having the Robertsonian translocation, environmental factors such as from exposure to toxins like glue or silicones. Males can also be the infertile ones with male hypospadias or possibly from viral infections such as from a virus called Adeno-associated virus that alters the DNA. Sometimes there are no explainable reasons for infertility.

Risk of Fertility Treatments

The risks of fertility treatments can come from the fact that sometimes there can be multiple births as a result and genetic issues of the defects that may be located in the Y chromosome of the male may be passed on to the next generation. There are also legal issues involved in some countries and sometimes ethical or religious concerns involving “unnatural” methods of conceiving.

Assisted reproduction technology

As infertility is not as uncommon as it might seem to be, assisted reproductive technology (ART) is used to describe technology that by synthetic means or partly synthetic assist as infertility treatments to help in conceiving. It also includes reproductive techniques that may also involve third parties such as eggs or sperm donors.

Egg donation

Egg donation is when the egg is taken from a donor and conception happens through in vitro fertilization, where the egg is fertilized by the sperm outside of the womb. Donors for egg donations could be designated donors who are friends or relatives that the patient calls in specifically, patients who already go through their own in vitro fertilization in shared oocyte programs sharing unused eggs to other patients, or donors that sell their eggs for monetary reasons or just because they want to. Risks involved in egg donation for the egg donor may be after the egg removal surgery where bleeding may occurs or hormones used in the process could cause liver failure. There could also be a risk of early menopause or a higher chance of developing ovarian cancer.

Embryo donation

Embryo donation is when the embryo is frozen and taken from a donor and then planted into the patient. Usually, the embryo comes from unused embryos left over from IVF processes that are donated to fertility clinics or embryo banks. Studies show that this method is almost twice as cost-effective as egg donation.

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF)

In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is usually the main method involved in assisted reproduction. It is when the egg is fertilized by the sperm, outside of the womb.

Sperm Donation

Sperm Donation happens when a man donates his semen full of sperm usually through a sperm bank at the clinic so that it may be used in assisted reproduction for a woman. Usually, the sperms are then placed into the woman through a process called artificial insemination. Sperm freezing is the method in which the sperms that are donated to the sperm banks or such are keep so that they can be preserved in their original conditions until they are required to be used.

Alternative Treatments

Three alternative treatments scientifically supported methods that may further assist in reproduction technology that could help increase the chances of conceiving includes group psychological intervention, acupuncture, and manual physical therapy. Group Psychological Intervention with two intervention groups, one being a support group and a cognitive behavior group shows an increased percentage rate of infertile woman being able to conceive. It is believed that acupuncture performed before an IVF embryo transfer increased IVF pregnancy success rate. Manual physical therapy or the Wurn Technique involving the manipulation physical treatment may actually help to unblock the blocked fallopian tubes in women.

Fertility Tourism

As cost for procedures such as In-vitro fertilization or donor insemination can be quite costly in some countries, some people may choose to travel to a different country for fertility treatments. Reasons can range from legal matters to cost to range of medical resources.