What are the different types of treatments?

ART, several more or less invasive techniques

Different techniques can be proposed to infertile couples candidates for ART:

Artificial insemination

This is the simplest and least expensive ART technique. It consists of collecting and preparing the sperm from the partner or a donor to inject it directly into the uterus of the woman in synchronization with ovulation.

In vitro fertilization (IVF)

This is a more invasive technique, which consists of causing the meeting of an egg and a sperm in the laboratory.

The first step is to stimulate the follicles with hormonal treatment using higher doses of exogenous FSH (follicle-stimulating hormone) than those used in insemination. When the follicles are mature, they are collected and transmitted to the laboratory. At the same time, sperm is collected and prepared in the laboratory.

The fertilization then takes place in vitro, meaning outside the woman's body. The sperm is deposited in contact with the eggs in a culture dish placed at 37°C. The fertilized eggs become embryos.

Two, three, or five days after fertilization, the embryos are transferred to the woman's uterus using a catheter introduced under ultrasound control.

IVF-ICSI (in vitro fertilization with intracytoplasmic sperm injection)

In vitro fertilization with ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection) now accounts for 67% of IVF procedures. This technique consists of directly injecting a sperm into the egg. It has solved the majority of male infertility problems since only a few mobile sperm are needed to obtain embryos.

The microinjection is performed by a biologist, under the control of a microscope. It is repeated for each mature and fertilizable egg. The other steps are identical to those of IVF, from hormonal stimulation of the woman to embryo transfer.

Egg or sperm donation

A sterile couple benefits from the gametes of a donor.