The Uses of Hormones to Treat Infertility (AQA GCSE Biology): Revision Note

Treating infertility

Higher Tier Only

• Infertility occurs when a person or couple is unable to conceive naturally

  • E.g. due to low levels of reproductive hormones, which can affect the maturation or release of eggs

Hormones as fertility drugs

• Hormones can be given as fertility drugs to treat some causes of infertility

• FSH stimulates the maturation of eggs, while LH stimulates their release, increasing the likelihood of conception occurring naturally

IVF treatment

• IVF (in vitro fertilisation) is a fertility treatment in which eggs are fertilised by sperm outside the body

• In the process of IVF:

  1. a woman is given FSH to stimulate the maturation of several eggs, so more eggs are available, and LH to stimulate ovulation, so the eggs can be collected – increasing the chance of fertilising an egg

  2. the eggs are collected from the ovaries and fertilised by sperm in the laboratory

  3. the fertilised eggs develop into embryos in the lab

  4. at the stage when they are tiny balls of cells, an embryo is transferred into the woman's uterus

     • Occasionally, two embryos may be transferred at this stage

• The success rates of IVF are not high, although improvements in reproductive technologies have helped to improve treatment outcomes

Issues with fertility treatments

Higher Tier Only

• Fertility treatment can give couples the chance to have a baby

• However, there are factors that some may want to consider carefully, including:

  • an increased risk of multiple births, which can increase health risks for the mother and babies

  • unsuccessful fertility treatment can be emotionally and physically stressful for those undergoing treatment

  • ethical concerns about the status of embryos and what should happen to embryos that are not used in treatment

  • ethical questions about the uses and limits of embryo screening