Assisted Human Reproduction Glossary
Assisted human reproduction key terms and their definitions. Designed for law students, legal scholars, and policymakers working on reproduction and fertility law. Put together by members of the Health Law and Innovation Research Group (Lincoln Alexander School of Law, Toronto Metropolitan University) with support from students of the Politics of Reproduction Research Group (Department of Political Science, University of Waterloo).
A
Artificial Insemination: Artificial insemination (external link, opens in new window) refers to the insertion of sperm into a person’s cervix or uterus for the purposes of achieving a pregnancy. Examples of artificial insemination include intrauterine insemination (which occurs in a fertility clinic), or at-home insemination.
Assisted Human Reproduction (AHR): Assisted human reproduction (AHR) refers to the multitude of ways of conceiving other than by sexual intercourse (external link, opens in new window) . This involves dealing with embryos, eggs and/or sperm outside of the human body (external link, opens in new window) .
Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA): The Assisted Human Reproduction Act (AHRA) is a piece of federal criminal law passed by the Parliament of Canada that governs the use of reproductive technologies, such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) and related techniques, such as surrogacy and gamete donation (external link, opens in new window) .
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART): Assisted reproductive technologies (ART) are fertility treatments, techniques and/or procedures that help people to conceive (external link, opens in new window) .
E
Egg / Oocyte / Ovum / Ova: An oocyte is an immature egg which may undergo meiotic division to form an ovum/egg. An ovum/egg refers to a female reproductive cell (external link, opens in new window) (a female gamete) that has matured. Ova is the plural of ovum.
Egg Donation: Egg donation is a process where a person with ovaries provides eggs to intended parent(s) (external link, opens in new window) . In order to procure the eggs, the egg donor must go through the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF). During the IVF process the ovaries are stimulated to produce more eggs which are retrieved and either used to create embryos or frozen for later use. The retrieved eggs may be fertilized with either the sperm of the intended parent or a donor.
Egg Donor / Egg Provider: An egg donor or egg provider is an individual with ovaries who provides their eggs to intended parent(s), with no intention of being the parent to any child conceived via the eggs (external link, opens in new window) .
Egg Freezing / Oocyte Cryopreservation: Egg freezing or oocyte cryopreservation is the practice of freezing eggs from a patient’s (external link, opens in new window) stimulated cycle. Egg freezing involves the use of hormonal medications to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs than the one or two (external link, opens in new window) generally produced in a regular menstrual cycle. After some time, the individual with ovaries will then receive a pre-retrieval “trigger” injection (external link, opens in new window) so that the eggs can be retrieved transvaginally the next day and frozen for future use.
Egg Retrieval / Oocyte Retrieval: Egg or oocyte retrieval is a procedure where eggs are collected (external link, opens in new window) from fluid-filled sacs called follicles in the ovaries.
Elective Egg Freezing / Social Egg Freezing/ / Planned Oocyte Cryopreservation: Social egg freezing, or planned oocyte cryopreservation or elective egg freezing occurs when an individual with ovaries freezes their eggs for nonmedical reasons (opens in new window) , such as future use in order to postpone childbearing.
Endometriosis: Endometriosis is a condition where the lining of the uterus begins growing in other places in the body such as the ovaries, vagina or fallopian tubes (external link, opens in new window) . As a result, people with endometriosis may experience pelvic pain and severe menstrual cramps.
Embryo: An embryo is a fertilized egg that has undergone one or more cell divisions (external link, opens in new window) .
Embryo Donation: Embryo donation is where a person who has previously undergone in vitro fertilization (IVF) decides to (PDF file) donate (external link, opens in new window) their unused embryo(s) to other intended parents.
F
Fetus: A fetus is the unborn (external link, opens in new window) offspring of a human in the prenatal development stage that occurs after the embryo stage.
Follicle: A follicle is a structure (external link, opens in new window) inside the ovaries that contains an egg as it develops.
G
Gamete: A gamete is a reproductive cell containing half the genetic material necessary to form a complete organism (external link, opens in new window) . Sperm are male gametes and eggs are female gametes.
Gestational Surrogacy: Gestational surrogacy (GS) is a third-party reproductive practice in which an embryo is created using the intended parent(s)’ gametes, donated gametes or a combination of the intended parent(s)’ gametes and donated gametes (e.g. intended parent’s sperm and donor eggs). The resulting embryo(s) are transferred into the uterus of a surrogate who (PDF file) has offered to carry (external link, opens in new window) the embryo and give the child to the intended parent(s) at birth.
I
Infertility: Infertility is the inability to conceive after one year or longer of unprotected sex (external link, opens in new window) for people with ovaries under the age of 35 or six months if the person with ovaries is over the age of 35.
Intended Parent(s) (IP): Intended parent(s) (external link, opens in new window) (IP) are the person, or persons, seeking to become parents via assisted human reproduction.
Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI): Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (external link, opens in new window) (ICSI) is used in combination with in vitro fertilization (IVF). ICSI involves injecting sperm directly into an egg in a laboratory dish to induce fertilization and create an embryo.
Intrauterine Insemination (IUI): Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is a fertility procedure or assisted reproductive technology (ART) that involves placing sperm (that has been washed and concentrated) directly into a person’s uterus (external link, opens in new window) while they are ovulating. IUI is performed in a fertility clinic and involves a physician inserting a speculum (a tube-shaped tool) into the vagina to keep it open and then inserting the sperm into the uterus via a catheter (a flexible tube).
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): In vitro fertilization (IVF) is an assisted reproductive technology (ART) that involves several steps. First, medications (hormonal injections) are used to stimulate the ovaries to produce more eggs than the one or two that is typically produced in a menstrual cycle. Once the eggs are mature (usually two to three weeks (external link, opens in new window) ) the person with ovaries takes a trigger injection, and within about 24 hours a physician collects the eggs (transvaginally) during a process called the egg retrieval. Next, sperm is collected from a partner or donor. This sperm is then combined with the retrieved eggs through intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). The fertilized eggs are then incubated in a laboratory. The clinic will inform the intended parent(s) how many embryo(s) were created and will discuss options of transferring an embryo or embryos into the uterus. Any additional embryos may be frozen for later use by storing the embryos at the clinic with additional costs (external link, opens in new window) .
M
Medical Egg Freezing: Medical egg freezing (external link, opens in new window) refers to situations when an individual with ovaries freezes their eggs prior to undergoing a medical procedure that may affect their eggs.
O
Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS): Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) is a possible complication of fertility treatments that stimulate the ovaries. In people with OHSS, the ovaries become enlarged and may lead to symptoms such as bloating, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea (external link, opens in new window) , trouble breathing, as well as fluid buildup in the belly or chest. In more serious cases, OHSS can affect blood flow and kidney function.
Ovarian Stimulation: Ovarian stimulation or a stimulated cycle, occurs in an assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycle where an individual receives oral or injected fertility drugs to stimulate their ovaries to develop follicles (external link, opens in new window) that contain mature eggs.
Ovulatory Dysfunction: Ovulatory dysfunction is a diagnosis where a person with ovaries is not producing one egg per month, as is typical for a menstrual cycle. Types of ovulatory dysfunction include polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and multiple ovarian cysts (external link, opens in new window) .
P
Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS): Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a hormonal condition which occurs when an individual’s ovaries create an excess of hormones called androgens. PCOS is one of the most common causes (external link, opens in new window) of infertility for people with ovaries because it can cause irregular menstrual cycles and unpredictable ovulation.
Preimplantation Genetic Testing (PGT): Preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) involves diagnostic, or screening methods performed on embryos before (external link, opens in new window) being transferred into the uterus of the gestational surrogate or the intended parent’s uterus. PGT is used to detect either (a) specific genetic conditions to reduce the risk of passing inherited (external link, opens in new window) conditions to offspring or (b) an abnormal number of chromosomes. The latter is commonly recommended for individuals of advanced age, with a history of recurrent miscarriages, or previous unsuccessful in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts.
S
Sperm Donation: Sperm donation is the act of donating sperm for its use in assisted human reproduction (AHR) by intended parent(s) (external link, opens in new window) .
Sperm Donor / Sperm Provider: A sperm donor or sperm provider is an individual with testicles who donates their sperm to intended parent(s), with no intention of being the parent to any child conceived via the (external link, opens in new window) sperm.
Surrogacy: Surrogacy is where a person with a uterus, or womb, gestates and carries a child for intended parent(s). Surrogacy can be divided into (PDF file) two categories: gestational and traditional (external link, opens in new window) .
T
Third Party Reproduction: Third party reproduction refers to situations whereby intended parent(s) use donated eggs, sperm, embryo(s), and/or surrogacy to have a child. (external link, opens in new window)
Traditional Surrogacy: Traditional surrogacy (TS) is a third-party reproductive practice in which the surrogate gestates a pregnancy resulting from their produced egg that is fertilized using sperm (PDF file) from either the intended parent or a donor (external link, opens in new window) .
Z
Zygote: A zygote is a fertilized egg before it begins to divide (external link, opens in new window) into multiple cells.