The value of IVF-ET in patients undergoing treatment by the GIFT procedure

In patients undergoing the gamete intra-Fallopian transfer (GIFT) procedure, a prospective study was performed to establish the predictive value of attempting in-vitro fertilization (IVF) using extra oocytes obtained at laparoscopy and also the value of transferring the resulting embryo(s), in conjunction with GIFT, in the same treatment cycle. The GIFT procedure was performed in 50 treatment cycles involving 43 patients, of whom 20 have achieved clinical pregnancy with an overall success rate of 40% per treatment cycle. In 38 of these patients, one or more extra oocytes were available and an attempt was made in each case to fertilize them in vitro. When fertilization failed to occur in vitro, the chances of pregnancy were significantly reduced (9.1%). In patients for whom IVF of extra oocyte(s) was successful, there was no significant difference in the pregnancy rate whether embryo transfer was performed or not (54 and 57.1%, respectively). The success rate was also influenced by the number of oocytes collected rather than the number of oocytes/embryos transferred. Therefore these results suggest that IVF of extra oocytes is a good indicator of in-vivo fertilization and that if extra embryos are obtained they should be cryopreserved.