Part one of term paper
10, 000 Australian couples are treated with IVF each year. The expensive and rather risky program (costing around $4000 excluding overheads) allows infertile couples to achieve pregnancy when conventional therapy has failed or is unacceptable. The procedure involves placing eggs that have been fertilised in a cultured dish directly into the ...

Part two of term paper
... recombinant Follicle-Stimulating Hormone) to stimulate development of the ovarian follicles which contain eggs. Frequent blood tests are taken to monitor hormone secretion from the ovary and pituitary gland. - When eggs are ripe, they are retrieved by transvaginal needle aspiration, guided by ultrasound. At the same time, semen samples from the husband (or donor) are obtained. The most active and healthy sperm are selected by forcing them to swim through a culture medium. - The egg and sp ...