Laboratory aspects of assisted reproduction

A number of advances have been made concerning the laboratory aspects of assisted reproduction. Intracytoplasmic sperm injection has revolutionised the treatment of male infertility. With the development of better embryo culture media, blastocyst transfer is now possible and is likely to reduce high-order multiple pregnancy in assisted reproduction treatment. Pre-implantation genetic diagnosis has become an alternative to prenatal diagnosis. The recent use of molecular biology techniques to detect small genetic defects in men with severe male-factor infertility has provided information for the better counselling of these patients. Other techniques that are being developed are likely to have a tremendous impact on assisted reproduction treatment. These include in vitro maturation, follicle culture, and oocyte/ovarian tissue cryopreservation. The current status of the developments in the laboratory aspects of assisted reproduction is reviewed in this article.