Uterine sperm–egg transfer: a cost-effective alternative to IVF?

Direct transcervical transfer of spermatozoa and oocytes to the uterine cavity has been carried out in the past. This procedure could be a more appropriate approach than IVF for some anovulatory patients who require gonadotrophin stimulation, since the number of oocytes could be limited, thus reducing the occurrence of multiple gestations. However, most of the clinical pregnancy rates reported in the literature for gamete intrauterine transfer appear to be inferior to IVF pregnancy rates. This study attempted to improve the outcome of gamete intrauterine transfer by modifying some aspects of the procedure. This procedure is referred to as uterine sperm–egg transfer (U-SET) to imply that U (you the patient) set (determine) the number of oocytes to be transferred to the uterus. In this study’s series of 16 anovulatory patients under the age of 36 years, the clinical pregnancy rate was 69% and the live birth rate was 50%.