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Who is a candidate
for GIFT? |
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Male:
Male patients with a low sperm count have poor chances to impregnate
their partners by natural means. While insemination can improve
these chances, if changes in the quality of sperm are severe, the
G.I.F.T. procedure may be the best answer to the problem. As research
in this area improves, success in the treatment of male infertility
will be significantly improved. Right now, the success rate of G.I.F.T.
procedures is significantly higher than that of conception of other
means (IVF/ET or vaginal/cervical/intrauterine
insemination).
Female:
Women play a major role during conception. Not only
do they need to produce a fertilizable egg, they also need to release
it, and the fallopian tube needs to pick it up and provide favorable
surroundings for its fertilization. Any break in this process could
cause a long-lasting or possibly indefinite infertility. Women who
have a problem with any of the above functions, or who suffer from
"unexplained infertility" are the primary candidates for
the G.I.F.T. procedure. If one of the fallopian tubes is diseased,
the chances for conception are reduced to 50%. Endometriosis is
a frequent cause of infertility as well.
Clinical experiences seem to show that the G.I.F.T. procedure offers
favorable chances to patients who suffer from infertility and qualify
under the above categories. Many patients fail to conceive despite
extensive therapy with fertility medications (Clomid, Pergonal,
Lupron, hCG, Parlodel, etc.). Other investigations might show "normal"
conditions. It has been our experience and the experience in other
fertility centers that these cases of "unexplained infertility"
are treatable by the G.I.F.T. procedure.
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For your convenience, please visit our Glossary
of Terms and Definitions,
our more comprehensive Glossary
and our Tyler Medical Clinic
Infertility Library
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Testing Prior to
the GIFT Procedure
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| Proper consultation and investigation of the fertility problem
are necessary in deciding if couples are candidates for the G.I.F.T.
procedure. It is extremely helpful to provide information about previous
medical care, diagnostic tests and therapy applied in the past. In
certain cases, ovaries might not be accessible or visible at the time
of laparoscopy and the route to recover eggs from the ovary has to
be modified.
Useful Information
Female:
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The endocrinological status and regularity of menstrual periods
and ovulation should be studied.
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Cultures for bacteria that might destroy the growing embryo
should be obtained from the vagina and cervical opening.
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If necessary, inflammation of the uterine cavity will be
excluded by endometrial biopsy.
- The immunological condition of the uterus might need to be
studied.
Male:
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The quality of semen will be investigated: the number of
cells per cc, the rate of motility, the quality of motion, normal
and abnormal forms, etc.
- The semen will be cultured for the presence of bacteria and
studied for the presence of inflammatory cells. Infection of the
semen might be lethal to the embryo.
- When indicated, a test of the ability of the sperm to penetrate
animal eggs might be ordered (hamster oocyte penetration assay).
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