IVF, GIFT AND OTHER METHODS
Fertility treatments often do not begin with in vitro or its variations. In fact, only 11 percent of infertile couples ever reach the IVF stage. Before plunging into costly high-tech methods, couples first undergo diagnostic tests to learn the cause of infertility. Then they may be treated with relatively simple (and less expensive) techniques.
Women who do not shed enough eggs, for example, can be treated with clomiphene (one of a number of ovary-stimulating drugs) or hormones. They may become pregnant in 6 to 9 months, at a cost of about 4,000 dollars. If blocked fallopian tubes are the problem, surgery often can be used, at a cost of between 5,000 and 10,000 dollars. In another scenario, women may be producing harmful antibodies -chemicals that can destroy or injure sperm entering the vagina. The condition may be treated with potent steroids like cortisone.
About 40 percent of the burden of infertility lies with the man. Women account for another 40 percent; the remainder may be a result of both partners or may have unknown causes. One common cause of male infertility is a swollen vein in the testicles, called a varicocele. It can be corrected with surgery.
If these treatments do not work, doctors may try a high-tech method. In 1993, about 41,000 such procedures were performed in the United States, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Although traditional IVF was by far the most common, accounting for 81 percent of all procedures, other methods increasingly are being used. Here are some of the latest variations and their success rates:
• GIFT and ZIFT. The letters stand for gamete or zygote intrafallopian transfer. With GIFT, doctors surgically insert an egg and sperm (or gametes) inside the fallopian tube. Once there, the sperm is supposed to fertilize the egg, forming an embryo, which then travels to the uterus. ZIFT is similar: Instead of placing the sperm and egg immediately into the fallopian tubes, the doctor places them into an incubator for 24 hours. Then the fertilized eggs are put into the fallopian tubes. The success rate for both techniques is around 24 percent, although that figure, along with the cost, can vary considerably from clinic to clinic.
• ICSI – intracytoplasmic sperm injection. One of the most promising new treatments for male infertility is ICSI. Doctors take a single sperm and inject it into a single egg; the resulting zygote is then transferred into the uterus. About 1,000 ICSI procedures are performed each year, and the success rate is around 24 percent. ICSI costs 10,000 to 15,000 dollars.
Jeffrey and Amy Hill of Minneapolis used GIFT to help them give birth to two daughters: Kate Lynn, now 7 years old, and Julia, almost 4. The couple spent 22,000 dollars on their fertility program.
“We depleted our savings,” Amy, 41, recalls. “My husband was out of a job. [Jeffrey, 44, is now president of a water treatment company.] We had to make a major decision on whether to gamble. But it was in our plan, in our hearts, and it would have been a real sting if it had not worked.
“But we have two beautiful, healthy daughters. We never really believed we’d have a baby until we had Kate Lynn in our arms. We were in total awe of her.”
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