ABSTRACT
The treatment of childlessness due to male and female abnormalities differs, in that the latter requires the interposition of considerable professional and technical expertise. This chapter uses the term 'in vitro fertilisation' (IVF) to describe the treatment of tubal infertility by the in vitro production of embryos derived from a husband and wife; the transfer to the womb, which is essential to successful treatment, will be assumed to be no more than part of that process. As in the case of the male, the correct treatment of female infertility depends upon a correct diagnosis. Some women appear to develop antibodies to their husband's semen. Such cases may be amenable either to artificial insemination or to in vitro fertilisation. Strictly speaking, the terms IVF and 'embryo transfer' (ET) refer to two basic technical manoeuvres. IVF gives rise to no medico-legal problems of itself; the situation is comparable to artificial insemination by the husband's semen (AIH).
