JohnL Yovich

IN-VITRO FERTILISATION OF OOCYTES FROM WOMEN WITH SERUM ANTISPERM ANTIBODIES

Five women whose infertility was believed to be related primarily to their serum antisperm antibodies underwent in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer. Follicle growth was stimulated with clomiphene citrate, sometimes combined with human menopausal gonadotropin, and ovulation was triggered off with human chorionic gonadotropin. 20 oocytes were collected from the five patients, and 15 of these were fertilised in the presence of donor serum. All embryos developed to morphologically normal 2-cell and 4-cell embryos. All five women proceeded to embryo transfer, and two became pregnant.

QUALITY OF EMBRYOS FROM IN-VITRO FERTILISATION

SIR,-In their paper on in-vitro fertilisation and embryo transfer (IVF/ET) Dr Edwards and Mr Steptoe (Dec 3, p 1265) describe the delivery of 139 infants in the five years since their first success and a pregnancy rate improved to almost 30% of embryo transfers, figures that establish the technique as a highly suitable option for the management of infertility. Our IVF/ET programme, which has a record of 16 healthy infants after a first successful outcome in July, 1982,1 has been developed from the techniques of Edwards and Steptoe and experience with Prof Ian Craft when he was at the

The treatment of normospermic infertility by gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) was applied in 207 treatment cycles in 73 couples. The pregnancy rate in cycles with only one (2/21, 9.5%) or two (2/29, 6.9%) oocytes transferred was significantly less than that in which four oocytes (36/116, 31.0%) were replaced. The collection of more than four oocytes did not influence the pregnancy rate in that treatment cycle. The overall pregnancy rate was 24.2% (50 of 207) and was similar in the four infertility groups studied (non-occlusive tubal disorders, endometriosis, cervical factor and unexplained infertility) with 28 (56%) of the pregnancies delivered at greater than or equal to 20 weeks. The pregnancy wastage included 4 (8%) ectopic pregnancies and 3 (6%) late pregnancy losses. The 12 multiple pregnancies occurred following the transfer of three and four oocytes.