Gammete Intrafallopian Tube Transfer (GIFT)

Gammete intrafallopian tube transfer, more commonly referred to by the acronym GIFT, is an assisted reproductive procedure that involves removing a woman's eggs, mixing them with sperm and immediately placing them into a woman's fallopian tube. Fertilization takes place in the fallopian tube instead of a laboratory like it would with many other assisted reproductive technologies.

The Steps of GIFT

If this is the option you choose to treat infertility, you will be required to take hormones to stimulate your ovaries into producing multiple eggs. These hormones are usually injected and the dosage and type of medicine will be decided between you and your doctor. Naturally a woman will usually only produce a single egg per cycle and a single egg is not enough to increase the chance of conception with GIFT. This is why it's necessary to trick your body into producing more.

The growth of the eggs is carefully monitored using blood work and ultrasounds just as the egg growth is monitored with IVF. When the eggs are mature, they're collected through an aspiration procedure. Three or four of the retrieved eggs are immediately mixed with approximately 200,000 mobile sperm from your partner. The mixture of eggs and sperm is transferred into a special catheter. The mix is then injected into the fallopian tubes through a laparoscopic procedure.

The Laparoscopic Procedure

This procedure is usually performed under general anesthesia and involves cutting a ½-inch to ¾-inch incision in the belly button or lower abdomen. The doctor will then fill the abdominal cavity with carbon dioxide to make it swell and provide more room for the doctor to work. A ½-inch fiber optic rod with a light source and video camera (the laparoscope) is inserted through the incision. This allows the doctor to see what he or she is doing as the sperm/egg mix is injected into the fallopian tubes.

When is GIFT Used?

This procedure is often used when a couple has been trying to get pregnant for at least a year. It's a way of getting pregnant for those who have ovulatory disorders or cervical problems or couples with unexplained infertility. Sometimes GIFT is used when intrauterine insemination has been unsuccessful after five or six attempts. GIFT tends to be a better assisted reproductive procedure to treat male fertility problems like low sperm count.

For the procedure to work, the woman needs to have healthy fallopian tubes. She must also have the capacity to ovulate. This procedure is not for women who have significant tubal damage, tubal blockage or anatomic problems with their uteruses. It can sometimes be used with women who have mild endometriosis, but does not work with severe endometriosis especially if there are significant intrauterine adhesions.