Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer or GIFT is one of the earliest forms of fertility interventions but is still going strong today. Just like In Vitro Fertilization, the eggs and sperm, or Gametes, are gathered up for later use. The heartiest are taken, mixed together and placed in one of the fallopian tubes. This is a more natural form of assisted fertility intervention as the eggs are fertilized inside the body just as they would be with normal conception.

Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer can help in many cases of unexplained infertility, for example, when your fallopian tubes aren’t blocked or weakened. This treatment is also very good for men that have a low sperm count or with sperm that do not move very well. Oftentimes, to ensure that the man’s sperm can fertilize the woman’s eggs, In Vitro Fertilization is proposed as the first form of action. If productive, Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer may be employed in the next intervention cycle or cycles instead of repeating In Vitro Fertilization.

Before commencing with Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer, you may be given a uterine dye test and a laparoscopy to determine your fallopian tubes are healthy and free from obstruction. The laparoscope is alike to a small lighted scope which inserted through a 5mm incision in the stomach which permits an examination of both the womb and fallopian tubes. Up to the stage of egg [collection], Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer is exactly the same as for In Vitro Fertilization.

On the same day as the woman’s eggs are collected, the man contributes a sperm sample but if donor sperm is being used, before being mixed with the eggs, it is allowed to thaw. The healthiest one or two eggs are then mixed with the arranged sperm in a catheter (a fine, flexible tube).

The catheter is then inserted by a doctor to leave the eggs at the end of one or often both fallopian tubes. In order to ensure that the womb is a healthy and stable environment for the eggs, the woman will be provided with some progesterone in one of its forms to line the uterus during a recuperation period before leaving the clinic.

Although the success rate for Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer will vary from clinic to clinic, the amount of women getting pregnant in any one cycle is between twenty five to thirty percent. Like most fertility treatments, Gamete Intra-Fallopian Transfer is most successful when the woman is more youthful.