2011 Australian Baby Bonus News Site.

Hi All, I stumbled across some useful information on this subject. I have cut and paste for your information.

Procedures such as GIFT, PROST, ZIFT, FICSIT and TEST (many of which we pioneered in NSW) have now been superseded and are therefore rarely performed. Most couples will require either ‘normal’ IVF or ICSI and it is therefore important to understand the differences.

IVF stands for In Vitro Fertilisation. With this method eggs are collected and put with sperm in vitro (although this means 'in glass'). Embryos that result from this are placed (‘transferred’) into the uterus between 2 and 5 days later. They can, if suitable, also be frozen (cryopreserved) for later use.

ICSI stands for Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection. This is a more sophisticated method of achieving fertilisation in vitro, (i.e. a more complicated form of IVF involving the scientists putting the sperm directly into the egg), and is used for those with severe male factor problems, (e.g. very few sperm, or very poor quality). It requires very expensive equipment, is labour intensive and is only used when conventional IVF does not, or is not expected to, result in fertilisation.

In some situations, ART does not result in a pregnancy due to totally unsatisfactory eggs or, (rarely now because we have ICSI), sperm. In such cases donated gametes (sperm or eggs), or even embryos, may occasionally be suggested. Whilst using donated gametes and embryos is a relatively simple medical procedure, it is complex psychologically and requires thorough consideration before the decision to proceed.

IVF is not one simple procedure, but a series of steps over several weeks. The steps involved in this procedure are outlined below.


Stimulating the ovaries

Hormones are usually given to stimulate the ovaries to produce more than the usual one egg per cycle. This is to enable the collection of several eggs.The development of the eggs is monitored by one or two blood tests and ultrasounds. The ultrasound and blood tests ensure that eggs are collected at precisely the right time.

Collecting the eggs

The ultrasound is inserted in the vagina and a very fine needle is threaded through a guide, which is attached to a probe. Only a light anaesthetic is required for this procedure. The ultrasound monitor shows where the follicles are. The needle pierces the follicle and extracts the follicular fluid, which contains the egg.

Fertilisation and embryo transfer

A couple of hours after egg collection, the man provides a sample of semen. In a standard IVF treatment, the eggs are mixed with the sperm in a culture dish. For intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment, one sperm is injected directly into the cytoplasm of each egg.


If an egg is fertilised by a sperm, a zygote or pre-embryo will begin to develop. The pre-embryo remains in the incubator for one or two days, until it has divided into two or four cells. Following fertilisation, two to three embryos will be transferred to the uterus using a soft, fine catheter. This procedure (known as embryo transfer) is quite painless, similar to a smear test, and requires no anaesthetic.


For the gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) program, eggs and sperm are placed directly into the fallopian tubes, allowing fertilisation to take place in the natural way. The procedure is performed using a laparoscope, and a general anaesthetic is required. This procedure is rarely used now.