Assisted reproductive technology: a brief discussion

As many as one in six couples will encounter problems with fertility, defined as failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after regular intercourse for 12 months. Increasingly, couples are turning to assisted reproductive technology (ART) for help with conceiving and ultimately giving birth to a healthy live baby of their own. With this in mind, it is important that each step of the ART cycle is supported by good evidence from well-designed studies. Herein, the health economics research in this area are critically appraised. The cost-effectiveness of different interventions should be considered when making decisions about treatment. The rapid advancements in sciences have revolutionized modern medicine in a number of ways; genetic engineering, Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ART), human cloning, stem cells etc. has opened up the unimagined and promise unquestionable and undreamed benefits to mankind. At the same time, they raise many questions of law and ethical issues relating to public interest, social and religious sentiments and family concern. There is a certain element of risk associated with all assisted reproductive procedures. It is, therefore, necessary to ascertain the therapeutic and research value of the AR procedure in each case. This article reviews techniques of ART along with its costs, ethical & legal issues as well as implementation in today's society.