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For the couple at high risk of having a child with a serious genetic disorder, prenatal diagnosis is not the sole option. Even in situations in which a particular disease is diagnosable prenatally, it is important to be certain that other avenues are explored. Prospective parents who are known, for example, to be carriers of an autosomal recessive disorder may be unaware of the possibility of sperm or ovum donation, or may be unwilling to raise the question. This option may be viewed more favorably than prenatal diagnosis and elective abortion. Physicians should be certain that their patients are familiar with all the aforementioned important options, as well as with adoption, vasectomy, tubal ligation, treatments of the mother and/or fetus during pregnancy, and other methods of assisted reproduction (e.g. intracytoplasmic sperm injection,²¹⁴ epididymal sperm aspiration,²¹⁵ and preimplantation genetic testing) (see Chapter 2).