In vitro maturation (IVM)
In vitro maturation (IVM) refers to the process when a woman's eggs are collected and matured outside the body. In the process of IVM, embryologists take the immature eggs and ripen them in the laboratory. Later they are fertilized and placed into a woman's uterus to achieve a successful pregnancy.
Since its inception in the 1990s, IVM has been a popular infertility treatment. Though IVM initially yielded limited success, however, improvements in IVM protocols, maturation procedures, and culture medium have resulted in satisfactory pregnancy rates in a carefully selected patient population.