In vitro fertilisation
assisted reproductive technology procedure (ART)
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation in which an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating the ovulatory process, then removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from the ovaries and enabling sperm to fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory. After a fertilised egg (zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is transferred by catheter into the uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.
IVF is a type of assisted reproductive technology (ART) used to treat infertility, enable gestational surrogacy, and, in combination with pre-implantation genetic testing, avoid the transmission of abnormal genetic conditions. When a fertilised egg from egg and sperm donors implants in the uterus of a genetically unrelated surrogate, the resulting child is also genetically unrelated to the surrogate. Some countries have banned or otherwise regulated the availability of IVF treatment, giving rise to fertility tourism. Financial cost and age may also restrict the availability of IVF as a means of carrying a healthy pregnancy to term.
In July 1978, Louise Brown was the first child successfully born after her mother received IVF treatment. Brown was born as a result of natural-cycle IVF, where no stimulation was made. The procedure took place at Dr Kershaw's Cottage Hospital in Royton, Oldham, England.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “In vitro fertilisation” as assisted reproductive technology procedure (ART). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as assisted reproductive technology procedure (ART). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q200117. The Library of Congress control number is sh85047906. 1 of 2 selected statements include explicit references; 2 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1978.
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This entry incorporates text from “In vitro fertilisation” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.