Embryo transfer, in this process the ovum is taken from a woman, fertilised in a laboratory with male sperm, and implanted in the womb of a woman to develop in the normal way. A child was born by the use of this process for the first time in 1979; and twins have been born to a 62-year-old woman as a result of this process. As yet cryopreserved semen has not, it is thought, been used for in vitro fertilisation but, there is no medical reason why it should not be so used. It is to be noted that the fertilised embryo need not be implanted in the womb of the woman from whom it was originally taken; the womb of a host mother may be used, this process is called embryo transfer [The Lancet (1979), Vol. 2, 642: (1979) 169 NLJ 627]. See also Halsbury's Laws of England 35, para 1026, p. 1025.
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