Previously, people with infertility who wanted to form families with children had no alternative but to resort to adoption.

Today, thanks to the first test tube girl , born in 1978 through in vitro fertilization, the door was opened to the different assisted reproduction techniques that we currently know, whose purpose is to help couples and single people who have problems with their fertility to achieve a pregnancy that results in a healthy newborn .

Assisted reproductive techniques

Among the assisted reproductive techniques most used in fertility treatment we find the in vitro fertilization and artificial insemination, which can be combined with other techniques such as gamete donation, that is, eggs or sperm from a donor, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, surrogacy among others.

These are some of the most important assisted reproductive techniques today.

In vitro fertilization:

This is one of the methods of reproduction with the highest percentage of effectiveness to achieve pregnancy in couples with infertility problems.

It is a highly complex technique that consists of fertilizing an egg with a sperm in a laboratory, in order to obtain quality embryos that can later be transferred to the patient's uterus.

There are two types of in vitro fertilization

Conventional IVF:

In which an egg is put in contact with a sperm so that fertilization occurs by itself.

ICSI:

Intracytoplasmic sperm injection in which sperm is inserted directly into the egg with the help of a needle, forcing fertilization.

In both types of in vitro fertilization, you can use your own gametes as those of a donor, either semen or ovules if required. 

The procedure will be as follows:

1. Ovarian stimulation.
2. Follicular puncture.
3. Preparation of semen in the laboratory.
4. Fertilization, either conventional or ICSI.
5. Embryo culture and development.
6. Embryo transfer to the uterus.

CLOTHING method:

This is a type of IVF used in lesbian couples who want to have a shared motherhood.

CLOTHING means reception of eggs from the couple, in which the eggs of one of the two mothers are used to form the embryo that will be transferred to the other mother, which makes both feel that they are actively participating in the process, either providing the genetic material or carrying out the pregnancy.

Artificial insemination:

TO difference from IVF this is a less complex assisted reproductive technique.

It basically consists of introducing the sperm into the woman's uterus, so that fertilization occurs in the fallopian tubes, just as in a natural pregnancy.

In this treatment, both the semen of the couple and that of a donor can be used, that is, it can be used both in heterosexual couples and in single women.

The procedure is the next:

1. Ovarian stimulation.
2. Preparation of semen in the laboratory.
3. Insemination, that is, introduction of semen with a cannula.

Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis

Assisted reproduction techniques have brought with it PGD, which is the study of the DNA of embryos and is carried out during an in vitro fertilization treatment.

In this process, one or more cells are removed from the embryo to rule out any chromosomal alteration or genetic mutation. In this way, genetically healthy embryos are selected to be transferred to the uterus of the pregnant patient.

Surrogacy

Surrogacy As its name implies, it is the assisted reproduction technique in which a woman agrees to carry another person's child.

It is indicated for:

• heterosexual couples that due to uterine problems or because the pregnancy implies a danger to the life of the mother, it is not possible to carry their baby.
• Single or lesbian women who for the above reason cannot carry out their pregnancy.
• Gay male couples and single men who want to have biological children.