ABSTRACT
The initial studies on the maturation of human oocytes in vitro were carried out on oocytes that were obtained when ovaries or pieces of ovaries were acquired by laparotomy.1 By 1970, Steptoe and Edwards had developed a laparoscopic method for aspirating oocytes from their Graafian follicles, with a method that yielded oocytes from about one third of follicles.2 Initially, they used a needle and syringe to provide the suction, but later they developed an aspiration device, which provided continuous suction, with control being exerted by the assistant’s finger on the bypass valve. A similar technique, using a Venturi system activated by a foot operated “on-off” valve, was utilized by Lopata et al.3
