Concept and principle of IVF
In vitro fertilization embryo transfer (IVF-ET) is a kind of assisted reproductive technology, which combines male sperm and female egg artificially to make the fertilized egg develop in vitro, and finally implant the embryo into the female uterus to realize pregnancy and delivery. The realization of IVF is inseparable from the support of modern medicine and the use of a series of professional equipment.
Before the birth of IVF, infertile couples can only want to have children by other means, or accept the fact that it is not conducive to fertility. The emergence of IVF technology provides an important solution for infertile couples. The success rate of IVF has increased year by year, which has become the hope of many infertile couples.
The implementation of IVF is mainly divided into four steps: in vitro fertilization, embryo culture, selection of healthy embryos and embryo transfer. First, doctors will collect eggs from women or their bodies, and sperm from men or sperm donors. Then, eggs and sperm are put into a culture dish for in vitro fertilization. Next, the doctor will place the fertilized egg in the incubator to provide a suitable growth environment for the embryo to develop. In the process of embryo development, doctors will select the healthy embryo that is most likely to succeed in pregnancy according to the state and development degree of the embryo. Finally, the selected embryo will be implanted into the uterus of the expectant mother. If the embryo is successfully implanted, it will develop into pregnancy and finally give birth.
Development and progress of IVF technology
IVF technology has been developed since the 1970s, and its success rate was not high at the beginning. However, with the continuous exploration of scientific and technological progress and medical research, the technology has gradually matured. Now, the success rate of IVF has exceeded 40%, and continues to increase.
At the same time, IVF technology has also made great progress in the treatment of infertility. In addition to conventional IVF techniques, new techniques such as intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) have also been developed. ICSI technology can successfully fertilize sperm when the number of sperm is small or the quality is poor, while PGD technology can screen embryos carrying certain genetic disease genes, and reduce the birth rate of children with chromosomal abnormalities.
In addition, IVF technology has also received full support and investment from some medical specialized hospitals. For example, Ruijin Hospital affiliated to Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine in China has a first-class IVF center, which cooperates with many well-known scientific research institutions at home and abroad, and has advanced equipment, professional doctors and scientific research teams to provide a full range of inspection, treatment and consulting services for infertile couples.
Risks and potential problems of IVF
Although IVF technology is widely used and accepted in infertile couples, it also has certain risks and potential problems.
First, IVF technology has a certain success rate limit, and the success rate will gradually decrease with the growth of women's age. In addition, IVF technology may also cause multiple pregnancy problems, increasing the risk of premature birth and low birth weight infants.
In addition, there are some moral and psychological puzzles in the process of IVF. For example, selecting healthy embryos may involve ethical and moral issues, and how to dispose of discarded or frozen unselected embryos is also an ethical problem. In addition, infertile couples may face psychological problems such as anxiety and depression during IVF.
Prospect and summary of IVF technology
As a modern assisted reproductive technology, IVF technology provides an important solution for couples who cannot conceive naturally. With the progress of science and technology, the IVF technology has been constantly improved, the success rate has been continuously improved, and the risks and problems are also constantly reduced.
In the future, IVF technology is expected to become more popular and mature. Scientists will continue to study new technologies and methods, improve the success rate, reduce risks, and solve ethical and psychological puzzles. At the same time, the medical system also needs to strengthen support, provide more perfect services and care, and help infertile couples realize their reproductive dreams.
In short, IVF technology has made important breakthroughs in the medical field and has been widely used. It has brought hope and opportunity to infertile couples and made important contributions to the development of reproductive medicine.
