title: A critical assessment of the indications for in-vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.
abstract: In-vitro fertilization therapy (IVF-ET) should be considered an important and indispensable component of all comprehensive infertility treatment programmes. It is neither more, nor less important than operative laparoscopy, hysteroscopic diagnosis, a broad-based programme for ovarian stimulation and ovulation induction or even psychological counseling. Clearly, with today's technology, IVF-ET is not a panacea of infertility, but in selected cases it may provide a child where other forms of therapy have failed. However, what sets this therapy apart from all others is that it has heralded a new era in human biology that will not only enable us to treat, but also to understand the problem of infertility.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510.
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Thatcher
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: DeCherney
mesh_terms: D004624:Embryo Transfer; D005260:Female; D005307:Fertilization in Vitro; D006801:Humans