What is "in vitro fertilization" or "IVF"?

What is "in vitro fertilization" or "IVF"?

Richard Paulson (Chief, Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, USC) gives expert video advice on: How are my eggs collected for in vitro fertilization?; What are the benefits and disadvantages of using my own eggs for in vitro fertilization?; What are the benefits and disadvantages of using frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization? and more...

In vitro fertilization, abbreviated to IVF, is simply where fertilization takes place in vitro, which means in the laboratory. Using this form of assistive reproductive techonology, the first kind of "test tube baby" was born. During the IVF process, the eggs are collected from the woman and combined with sperm in the laboratory. After fertilization takes place, the embryos are allowed to grow for a few days and then placed back into the body of the woman. So, IVF typically involves the collection of multiple eggs because they stimulate the ovaries, although not a necessary part of the process, and then fertilization in the laboratory normally happens as a result of the sperm simply being combined with the egg. Although again you could use ICSI, Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection, to achieve fertilization if the sperm are unable to do it in the usual way, and the embryos are typically grown for about three, four, or perhaps five days and then put back inside the uterus. This is the basic assistive reproductive technology upon which all of the others are based.