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Alternative Fertility Treatments

It is important to remember that there are alternative fertility treatments such as surgery to unblock fallopian tubes or vasectomy reversal.

Clinics will usually offer other procedures such as IUI, this stands for Intrauterine Insemination. This is where specially washed and prepared sperm is inserted into the uterus. It is used to treat infertility due to a low sperm count where the female partner is young and has regular periods and ovulation.

It is also used when a woman does not have any known fertility problems but may not have a male partner and is trying for a baby using donated sperm. The sperm will have been sorted before treatment to ensure that only the healthiest sperm are used. This can circumvent some of the problems associated with a full cycle of IVF treatment. The technique injects the sperm directly through the cervix.

Other alternatives include Gamete Interfallopian Transfer (GiFT), whereby the patient’s egg is removed from the ovaries, screened and the healthiest eggs selected and placed with the sperm back in the woman's fallopian tubes. Fertilization takes place in the woman's body, rather than in a lab.

Zygote Intrafallopian Transfer (ZiFT), where fertilization of the eggs takes place outside the body (in a lab) and is then placed in the fallopian tubes. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI) is a procedure whereby fertilization takes place in a lab and the fertilized egg is then placed in the patient’s uterus.