A fertilised egg may be implanted into a surrogate's uterus, and the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the surrogate. IVF is a type of assisted reproductive technology used for infertility treatment and gestational surrogacy. After the fertilised egg ( zygote) undergoes embryo culture for 2–6 days, it is implanted in a uterus, with the intention of establishing a successful pregnancy.

The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) from her ovaries and letting sperm fertilise them in a culture medium in a laboratory.

In vitro fertilisation ( IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ('in glass').