• Tweet

Donor embryo: An embryo that is donated by a couple who previously underwent ART treatment and had extra embryos available. All parental rights are relinquished by the donor couple.

Ectopic pregnancy: A pregnancy in which the fertilized egg implants in a location outside of the uterus, usually in the fallopian tube, the ovary, or the abdominal cavity.

Egg: A female reproductive cell, also called an oocyte or ovum. Egg retrieval (also called oocyte retrieval): A procedure to collect the eggs contained in the ovarian follicles.

Egg transfer (also called oocyte transfer): The procedure of transferring retrieved eggs into a woman’s fallopian tubes through laparoscopy, used only in GIFT.

Embryo: An egg that has been fertilized by a sperm and undergone one or more divisions.

Embryo transfer: The procedure of placing an embryo into a woman’s uterus through the cervix after in vitro fertilization (IVF). During the process of zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT), the embryos are placed in a woman’s fallopian tube.

Endometriosis: A medical condition that involves the presence of tissue similar to the uterine lining in abnormal locations. This condition can affect both fertilization of the egg and embryo implantation.

Fertilization: The penetration of the egg by the sperm and the resulting combining of genetic material that develops into an embryo.

Fetus: The unborn offspring from the eighth week after conception to the moment of birth.