Assisted reproductive technologies glossary helps advance infertility as a disease

In an effort to standardize terminology and understanding of assisted reproduction and gain recognition of infertility as a true disease worthy of insurance reimbursement and government funding, the World Health Organization and the International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies recently released a new international glossary of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) terminology.

Among the many terms the glossary delineates is infertility, which it defines as "a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular unprotected sexual intercourse."

The glossary appeared simultaneously in the journals Fertility and Sterility and Human Reproduction.

Zegers-Hochschild F, Adamson GD, de Mouzon J; International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology; World Health Organization. The International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technology (ICMART) and the World Health Organization (WHO) revised glossary of ART terminology, 2009. Hum Reprod. 2009;24(11):2683-2687.