Fallopian replacement of eggs with delayed intrauterine insemination (FREDI): an alternative to gamete intrafallopian transfer (GIFT)

This report contains details of what is the first group of patients with nontubal infertility to undergo fallopian replacement of eggs with delayed intrauterine insemination (FREDI). Twenty-three patients suffering from idiopathic or immune infertility, polycystic ovarian disease (PCOD), or mild endometriosis underwent follicular stimulation with human menopausal gonadotropin and/or pure follicle-stimulating hormone plus human chorionic gonadotropin prior to laparoscopic pickup of eggs of varying maturity. Eggs without spermatozoa were transferred at the time of laparoscopy. Subsequent high intrauterine insemination (IUI) of washed spermatozoa at a time when egg maturation within the tubes was judged to be complete enabled a cohort of fully capacitated spermatozoa to meet fully mature eggs in a totally physiological manner. Eight clinical pregnancies arose from this group, one healthy, male infant has been delivered, and four pregnancies remain ongoing. Although based on a small population of patients, it does seem that in vivo egg maturation following replacement in the fallopian tube is an effective alternative to in vitro maturation and, with the increased control over timing of egg insemination, leads us to propose FREDI as a flexible new therapeutic approach for the treatment of nontubal infertility.