In Vitro Fertilization is probably the best known and most widely used ART procedure. For well over a decade, IVF has allowed infertile couples the chance to conceive and bear children. The best candidates for IVF are women with damaged fallopian tubes.

IVF is a four-stage procedure. The beginning of this process involves ovarian stimulation to produce several mature eggs that can be harvested from the ovary before they have been released from the follicles, and the monitoring and collection of eggs. Multiple eggs are removed from the woman and placed in a special medium for two to three hours. The male semen is processed, using different techniques to obtain a vigorous motile sperm. The prepared sperm is then introduced into the medium containing the egg(s).

Many of these eggs will fertilize and develop into embryos, which are then transferred back into the woman's uterus through a simple procedure that requires no anesthesia. In most cases, egg recovery is preceded by a period during which the woman receives daily hormone medications to stimulate the growth of multiple eggs. In some instances, however, it may be possible to accomplish IVF without the use of these ovulation induction medications.