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IVF - In Vitro Fertilization The miracle of babies born through in vitro fertilization (IVF) no longer seems so miraculous. Today¡¯s technology in IVF is advancing at a rate so rapid that it confuses those receiving treatment. There are may factors leading to, diagnosing and treating of infertility. However, I will be focusing on a more specific case scenario to evaluate. First let¡¯s take a look at, what Is In Vitro Fertilization? Simply stated, IVF involves removing eggs from a woman, fertilizing them in the laboratory (in a culture dish, actually, not a test tube) and then transferring the fertilized eggs into the uterus a few days later. More specifically, after super ovulation with hormones to produce multiple eggs, an Embryologist places the retrieved eggs in sterile culture media along with processed sperm and keeps them at normal body temperature inside an incubator, where fertilization and early cell division take place. Then the fertilized and dividing eggs are returned to the uterus. From that point, if the fertilized eggs implant successfully and become embryos, the pregnancy progresses as it would naturally. However, more recent controversy is not with the collection or fertilization of these eggs, but is with when they will be transferred back. Earlier IVF standards were to transfer the fertilized eggs on day 3 post retrieval. New technology in this field has been pushing the envelope and has transferred back fertilized eggs as late as day 5-6 post retrieval.
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