The ART of fertilizing eggs

Assisted reproductive technologies, or ART, include a number of fertility treatments that share one thing in common: Both the eggs and the sperm are handled outside the body.

According to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 85% to 90% of infertile couples can be successfully treated using more conventional fertility treatments, such as medications to trigger ovulation or surgical procedures to correct problems with the reproductive tract. For the remaining couples, however, only ART offers the possibility of pregnancy.

Most commonly, ART involves surgically collecting eggs from the woman's ovaries and, in the laboratory, combining them with sperm. After the eggs are fertilized, the embryo is allowed to develop briefly and is then returned to the woman's body and implants itself in the uterus.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, couples underwent more than 134,000 ART cycles in the U.S. in 2005, resulting in almost 39,000 live births and a total of more than 52,000 infants.

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Valerie Ulene