While IVF has been the answer for many couples' infertility, it has not been able to help everyone who desires a child. Third-party methods-surrogacy, egg donation, and embryo adoption-are proving to be viable alternatives for couples who are unable to have a child by other methods. These new technologies are similar in concept to one of the oldest forms of reproductive technology, donor insemination.

Depending on IVF

All three of these options (excluding traditional surrogacy) depend on the basic techniques of IVF, which involves the fertilization of an egg outside a woman's body. Geoffrey Sher, Virginia Marriage Davis, and Jean Stoess, coauthors of In Vitro Fertilization: The A.R.T. of Making Babies, explain the impact of IVF on expanding the range of infertility solutions:

Only a few years ago, women who did not have a healthy uterus...