What is In vitro fertilisation?
'''''In vitro'' fertilisation''' ('''IVF''') is a way to let [[spermatozoon|sperm]] [[Fertilisation|fertilise]] [[ovum|egg cells]] outside of the [[womb]]. IVF is used so that [[infertility|infertile]] women may still have children. ==Methods== IVF is done by: # Injecting a [[chemical drug]] to stop a woman's [[menstrual cycle]] # Injecting [[Follicle-stimulating hormone|FSH]] so that an [[ovum|ova]] is released from the woman's [[ovary|ovaries]] # [[Human chorionic gonadotropin|HCG]] is injected to loosen the ova # The ova is removed from the [[vagina]] # A sample of [[spermatozoon|sperm]] is taken # The sperm and egg are added together and a sperm will fertilise an egg #The fertilised egg ([[zygote]]) is then [[injection|injected]] into the woman's [[uterus]] ==History== Louise Brown, a female born in 1978 in [[Manchester]], [[England]], was the first ever person to be born as a result of in vitro fertilisation. Some religious organisations believe that adoption is a better course of action for infertile couples. They think IVF is wrong because it involves inspecting embryos for defects to destroy and often results in the destruction of spare embryos. For those who believe that a person is formed at conception, this is considered killing. == Other websites == * [http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/1131.html Guide to infertility (HFEA)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080412032926/http://www.hfea.gov.uk/en/1131.html |date=2008-04-12 }} {{Assisted reproductive technology}} {{biology-stub}} [[Category:Reproductive system]]