What is Assisted Reproductive Technology?

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) refers to a range of medical procedures and treatments designed to assist individuals or couples who are experiencing infertility or certain reproductive challenges in conceiving a child. ART techniques involve the handling of eggs, sperm, or embryos outside the body to facilitate pregnancy.Some common forms of ART include:

1. In vitro fertilization (IVF): This is the most well-known and widely used ART procedure. It involves stimulating a woman’s ovaries to produce multiple eggs, which are then retrieved and fertilized with sperm in a laboratory. The resulting embryos are cultured for a few days before being transferred to the woman’s uterus.
2. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI): ICSI is often used in conjunction with IVF. It involves the direct injection of a single sperm into an egg to facilitate fertilization. This technique is beneficial for couples facing male infertility issues.
3. Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT): In GIFT, eggs are collected from a woman’s ovaries, mixed with sperm, and then immediately transferred into her fallopian tubes. Fertilization occurs within the woman’s body.
4. Zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT): Similar to GIFT, ZIFT involves fertilizing eggs with sperm in a laboratory, but instead of placing them in the fallopian tubes, the fertilized embryos (zygotes) are transferred into the fallopian tubes.
5. Frozen embryo transfer (FET): This technique involves using frozen embryos that were created during a previous IVF cycle. The frozen embryos are thawed and transferred to the woman’s uterus.

ART also encompasses various other advanced techniques such as preimplantation genetic testing (PGT), where embryos are screened for genetic disorders before transfer, and donor gametes or surrogacy for individuals or couples who require assistance in both sperm and egg aspects of reproduction.ART involves ethical, legal, and emotional considerations, and it’s advisable to consult not only with medical professionals and experts in reproductive medicine, but also legal counsel versed on the topic, to explore the options and implications associated with these technologies. The legal considerations involved encompass a wide range of issues such as contract law, property law, consent, standards of care and negligence, religious and parental rights, as well as questions of custody in some cases following IVF.

It is a growing issue for divorcing couples to share embryos produced for IVF, but not used. What happens?Oklahoma law is silent as to many of the issues involved with Assisted Reproductive Technology. For example, Oklahoma has no law specific to surrogacy, however, that doesn’t mean surrogacy in Oklahoma is illegal. Oklahoma professionals have created a safe, legal, and practical process for parents wishing to take advantage of the technology available to them to start a family. The Smith Firm attorneys love working with intended parents to facilitate this process and we look forward to helping you.

To schedule your consultation to discuss your desired use of ART, call us at (405) 843-1000 or schedule here.