Gamete intrafallopian transfer: a treatment for long-standing infertility

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) has been described by Asch et al. (1,2) as an alternative technique in the treatment of infertile couples. At the University of the Orange Free State, the GIFT technique was introduced in July 1985, and during phase I, 31 patients were treated by means of GIFT. All patients had had at least six cycles of ovulation induction with human menopausal gonadotropin (hMG) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Their diagnoses were anovulation (3 patients), mild endometriosis (17 patients), and unexplained infertility (11 patients). All husbands' semen analyses were normal. Of the 31 patients, 3 failed, due to spontaneous ovulation before laparoscopy (1 patient) and unsuccessful follicle aspiration at laparoscopy with no oocytes found (2 patients). Four ongoing pregnancies resulted from the remaining 28 patients. This represents a pregnancy rate of 14.29% per laparoscopy (including the failures). The patients who became pregnant had had infertility treatment for 5, 6, 8, and 8 years, respectively. GIFT therefore appears to be a promising method of treatment for long-standing infertility.