Assisted reproductive technology (ART) generally involves the application of laboratory or clinical technology to gametes (human egg or sperm) and/or embryos for the purposes of reproduction to assist people to have children. ART often includes a woman taking fertility medication to increase the likelihood of falling pregnant and may include techniques such as artificial insemination (AI),1 in vitro fertilisation (IVF),2 gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT),3 zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT),4 and intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI).5 Donor sperm, eggs or embryos may be used in some circumstances. In addition, ART may in certain circumstances utilise increased understanding of human genetics in the application of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) to select particular embryos for implantation. More recently emerging research and technology has led to children being born as a result of 'three person' IVF to avoid mitochondrial disease, and discussion that ART may involve a future in which genome editing may be possible.
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