GIFT and ZIFT

Gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT) and zygote intrafallopian transfer (ZIFT) are rarely used now. For these procedures, as for in vitro fertilization, sperm and eggs are obtained. But in GIFT and ZIFT, the transfer is made much earlier than in IVF.

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In GIFT, the sperm and eggs are mixed together, then immediately placed in the fallopian tube in the hopes that fertilization will happen. In ZIFT, the fertilization happens in the lab, but the fertilized eggs are placed in the fallopian tube the next day, rather than waiting for the embryo to divide several times, as occurs in IVF.

GIFT and ZIFT are much more invasive than IVF. While the embryo transfer in IVF is done through the vagina, GIFT and ZIFT require the doctor to make a laparoscopic incision in the abdomen, in order to get the gametes or zygote into the fallopian tube.

Because several eggs are transferred, GIFT and ZIFT have a higher risk of multiple births than does IVF.

GIFT and ZIFT have declined as laboratory techniques have improved. Now technicians can observe fertilization, grow embryos for several days, and select the embryos that are most likely to succeed. At the time when GIFT and ZIFT were used more, these processes were less well understood and it was worth taking a chance with putting gametes or just-fertilized zygotes into the fallopian tubes. When pregnancy doesn't occur in GIFT, no one knows whether it was a problem with fertilization, embryo development, implantation, or something else; with IVF, there is a better chance that a problem could be pinpointed.