63. Fertility Treatments and IVF

GCSE Biology - Fertility Treatments and IVF

Fertility treatments help couples who are naturally infertile to conceive. These range from simple hormone supplements to more complex laboratory procedures like IVF.

1. Hormone Treatments

Some women are infertile because they have low levels of FSH (Follicle Stimulating Hormone), which prevents their eggs from maturing.

  • Treatment: The woman is given FSH in the form of a pill to mature the eggs, followed by LH (Luteinizing Hormone) to trigger ovulation (the release of the egg).

  • Result: This often allows the woman to become pregnant naturally.

2. IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)

IVF literally means "fertilization in glass" (outside the body). It involves several stages:

  1. Hormone Stimulation: The woman is given FSH and LH to stimulate the maturation of multiple eggs.

  2. Egg Collection: Eggs are harvested from the ovaries.

  3. Fertilization: The eggs are fertilized by the father's sperm in a laboratory. If the sperm count is low, ICSI (Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection) may be used, where a single sperm is injected directly into the egg.

  4. Incubation: The fertilized eggs are kept in an incubator to grow into embryos (tiny balls of cells).

  5. Embryo Transfer: One or more embryos are inserted into the mother's uterus to develop into a fetus.

3. Pros and Cons of IVF

Pros

Cons

Gives infertile couples a chance to have their own children.

Low success rate (roughly 1 in 4 in the UK).

Recent advances allow for genetic testing of embryos for diseases.

Can be emotionally stressful and physically unpleasant (e.g., abdominal pain).

Increased risk of multiple births (twins/triplets), which carries higher risks for mother and babies.

Ethical concerns: Unused embryos are often destroyed.

Ethical concerns: Potential for "designer babies" (though currently illegal).

Key Terms

  • In Vitro: Processes occurring outside a living organism (e.g., in a lab).

  • In Vivo: Processes occurring within a living organism.

  • Embryo: An unborn offspring in the early stages of development.