A new IVF method that lets fertilization and embryo development occur inside a woman’s body, rather than in the lab, could mean more options and cheaper IVF treatments. (Thanks to Blogging Baby for the sighting.) Egg and sperm are placed in a special vial and inserted into a woman’s vagina to develop into embryos, when they are then removed and transferred to her uterus. Because doctors don’t need incubation equipment for this process, it could be cheaper than traditional IVF.
Whether you’re using IVF because of infertility, or (like my partner and I) because one partner simply wants to donate an egg to the other to create a family, this is a development to watch. The procedure is still undergoing testing, though, and success rates and hazards are not yet known.