Older mothers and global/national responsibilities

Much of the debate about elderly motherhood has focussed on the anomalous situation of a woman simultaneously qualifying for an old age pension and child benefit. It is an engaging topic, but the discussion needs to be widened to include a consideration of global/national responsibilities: the relationship of a woman who provides an egg to, following its fertilisation, the woman in whom the embryo is implanted....[Read More]

US court to decide legal mother of surrogate baby boy

The Court of Appeals in Indiana, US, is to decide who is the legal mother of an 11-month old baby boy conceived by IVF (in vitro fertilisation) and born to a surrogate. The boy's genetic parents, known in court records as T.G. and V.G, are a married couple from northern Indiana. The birth mother is the wife's sister, who agreed to carry the baby for the couple. The boy's father's name is listed on his birth certificate but his mother's name will not be added unti...[Read More]

Experts warn of rising infertility in developing countries

Infertility levels are rising faster in developing countries than in developed countries, warned experts speaking at the 'Updates in Infertility Treatment (UIT) 2010' conference in Seville, Spain, last week. The infertility treatment specialists called for assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) to be made accessible to those in the poorest parts of the world, where infertility has the greatest consequences. They proposed a low-cost IVF (in vitro fertilisation) programme that...[Read More]

Merck receives EU approval for new infertility drug

The European Commission has granted approval of ELONVA, a first-in-class drug manufactured by White House Station pharmaceutical company, Merck. ELONVA is used for controlled ovarian stimulation in women embarking on IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment for infertility. With this approval, Merck has marketing authorisation for the drug in all EU member states....[Read More]

Report recommends refusing IVF to women with unhealthy lifestyles

'Fertility doctors should refuse treatment to women used to more than moderate drinking and who are not willing to minimise their alcohol consumption', according to a new report by the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). The report, from ESHRE's Task Force on Ethics and Law, covers the effects of alcohol, smoking and obesity on pregnancy....[Read More]

Correction: HFEA publishes a Grade A Incident report

Last week BioNews reported that the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) had for the first time decided to publish its report and the Licence Committee minutes relating to Grade A incidents, two of which occurred earlier last year at Guy's Hospital Assisted Conception Unit (ACU). It has been brought to our attention that there were a number of inaccuracies in this article. The corrected version of the article is published below:...[Read More]

The case for case-by-case regulation of PGD

On 20 January, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will decide whether to continue the case-by-case regulation of two types of PGD (preimplantation genetic diagnosis) applications: those for late onset conditions and tissue typing of embryos to produce a 'saviour sibling'....[Read More]

IVF children may have altered gene activity, study finds

Differences in the pattern of gene activity between children conceived naturally and those conceived following IVF (in vitro fertilisation) have been identified, the Sunday Times newspaper resported last week...[Read More]

NHS must improve access to IVF, say nursing leaders

The NHS must improve access to IVF, according to a new policy briefing from the Royal College of Nursing (RCN)...[Read More]

Fertility watchdog to review donation rules

The UK's fertility watchdog - the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) - agreed at an open Authority meeting last week to review a range of its sperm, egg and embryo donation (SEED) policies during 2010....[Read More]

A link between male infertility and epigenetic disorders in ART babies?

The aim of assisted reproductive technology (ART) is to achieve a single most important goal, the birth of a healthy child. ART is responsible for the birth of over 200,000 children each year worldwide. In the most common form of infertility treatment - IVF (in vitro fertilisation) - the woman's eggs are collected and then combined with the man's sperm in a petri dish. The successfully fertilised eggs are then transferred into the woman's womb. In ...[Read More]

Sperm linked to ART-related genetic disorders

Mutations in sperm used for in vitro fertilization (IVF) and intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) may be responsible for causing the rare genetic disorders associated with these techniques...[Read More]

Book Review: Born and Made

Born and Made - An Ethnography of Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis...[Read More]

Human trials of ES cell research could begin soon

Stem cell therapy came one step closer to being tested for the first time in people this week, as a US company applied to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for a licence to start a clinical trial. The embryonic stem (ES) cell therapy is being developed to treat Stargardt, a currently incurable disease that causes blindness in young people....[Read More]

Relaxation helps the success of IVF

Reducing stress may increase fertility, a new study suggests. At a fertility centre in Boston, US, some women took part in a stress management program in parallel with their IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment whilst others did not. It was found that the program had no effect on how many women conceived at the first try. However, women who failed at the first attempt and were trying to get pregnant a second time, whilst using the stress management techniques,experienced a 160...[Read More]

Freezing eggs leads to 'scrambled generations'?

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Storage Period for Gametes and Embryos) Regulations 2009 came into force on 1 October 2009 under negative Parliamentary procedure. Soon after, however, a prayer was moved for the regulations to be annulled and a debate took place on 21 October 2009 in the House of Lords....[Read More]

Alcohol reduces IVF success

A study conducted by researchers at the Harvard Medical School, US, has suggested that consumption of alcohol may be detrimental to chances of success in IVF (in vitro fertilisation) treatment. Consumption of just six units of alcohol a week by both partners reduced the probability of conception by 26 per cent. The study particularly singled out apparent detrimental effects to drinking white wine in women and drinking beer for the male partners. In those women whose partner dran...[Read More]

'Older Mothers': a report on the '21st century motherhood’ conference held at UCL, 18 September 2009

Maria Bousada, 69, once the world's oldest mother, died in July this year leaving behind two young children born following IVF only two years earlier. Her death reignited the debate surrounding 'older mothers' - or more specifically, post-menopausal women who require fertility treatment to conceive. In response to media attention surrounding Ms Bousada's death, Professor Sammy Lee, an expert in medical ethics, embryology and biomedical sciences based at University College London...[Read More]

Embryo mix-up mother will give child to biological parents

A woman from the US has given birth to another couple's baby after being implanted with the wrong embryo during her IVF treatment. Caroline Savage and her husband, Sean found out about the mistake when the clinic rang Mr Savage in February. But rather than abort the pregnancy, as the clinic suggested, the couple have elected to give the child back to its biological parents after the birth....[Read More]

Theatre Review: A Stroke of Genius

As the curtain dropped on the closing night performance of the London-based PIT Theatre Cooperative's world premiere production performed throughout August at this year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, so too ended the rare opportunity to witness a science communication creative, if not comical, success (of which I hope we see more). The PIT Collective's topical comedy entitled A Stroke of Genius bravely and uniquely informed its audience as its light-hearted plot turned on broad-sweeping bioethi...[Read More]