Experts say restrictions on socialising during Covid crisis may have led more women to seek to preserve fertility
There has been a dramatic rise in the number of women freezing their eggs in the UK, while more single people are opting for IVF, figures show.
A report from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HEFA) found that more people than ever are undergoing procedures, with egg- and embryo-freezing the fastest-growing fertility treatments in Britain.
Continue reading...Exclusive: IVF in UK ‘is the most successful and the safest it has ever been’, says Tim Child
A leading fertility expert has said the law should be overhauled so that rapid advancements in reproductive science do not stall.
Prof Tim Child of the University of Oxford said IVF in the UK was “the most successful and the safest that it has ever been”, and noted that the chance of having a baby from a single embryo was rising and the likelihood of having multiple births dropping.
Continue reading...Existing UK fertility law should be updated to regulate modern treatments, says HFEA
Children born via sperm or egg donation would not need to wait until adulthood to find out more about their biological parents, under proposed changes to the law in the UK.
At present, donor-conceived children cannot obtain information about their biological parents until they are 18. But the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) said the law should be updated so this information can be made available after the birth of a child, should the donor choose.
Continue reading...Warning from reproductive rights advocate comes as US states pass or debate legislation that would give full rights to embryos
In vitro fertilization treatment is facing a “clear and present danger” and could be a “casualty” of some of the proposed anti-abortion laws that are emerging across the US, according to a key advocate of reproductive medicine.
The warning comes as US states, including Louisiana, have passed or are debating new proposed legislation that would give full rights to embryos, which in some cases means fertilized eggs, created in the process of IVF and not implanted in a woman, would have the same legal rights as children.
Continue reading...University of Newcastle scientists suggest frozen sperm could be used to impregnate females in breed-for-release programs
Freezing koala sperm could become a key part of a strategy to save koalas from extinction by 2050.
University of Newcastle scientists Lachlan Howell and Ryan Witt say koala “biobanking”, could be harnessed with IVF technology to help the endangered species reproduce.
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Continue reading...Investigation into Jos Beek matches his DNA with children of mothers he treated between 1973 and 1986
A gynaecologist in the Netherlands conceived 21 children and potentially dozens more using his own sperm after prospective parents turned to him for fertility treatment, an investigation has discovered.
Jos Beek worked at Elisabeth hospital in Leiderdorp, now part of Alrijne hospital, between 1973 and 1998. He died in 2019.
Continue reading...Donor profiles sparked long conversations about the values we wanted for our child. The guys who wanted to ‘spread their genes’? Definitely out
Surrounded by glittering Christmas lights, in between sips of red wine, my friend made me a very decent proposal. “My sperm,” he said. “You can have it if you like.” We’d been catching up over festive drinks and the topic of kids came up, as it does when you are in your 30s. My partner – now wife – and I had started thinking about having a family, I’d told my friend. We had two wombs and a bunch of eggs; we just needed to figure out the rest of the baby-making equation. So he offered to sort that bit out for us, no strings (or body appendages) attached.
My wife and I thought about that offer a lot over the next few months. No offence to heterosexuals (some of my best friends are straight), but I don’t envy you most of the time. However, I am jealous of the fertile straight couples who don’t have to do anything more complicated than jump into bed when they decide they want kids. Instead of getting undressed, my wife and I went online. We researched, researched, researched. Should we go for a known donor such as my friend? Or would it be better to go to a sperm bank?
Continue reading...Parents wanted a second child to act as bone marrow donor to their son but ended up with more
A hospital in Belgium has been ordered to compensate a couple for their “shock” and “impoverishment” after they ended up having three children by IVF treatment owing to a mistake at its fertility clinic.
It is the first time the Belgian courts have found that a healthy child can be the cause of loss to parents.
Continue reading...It’s certainly not just women who worry about ageing and procreation – and now men have begun speaking about their own deep anxieties
It was when Connor woke up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom that he started thinking about it. The 38-year-old civil servant from London got back into bed and couldn’t sleep: he was spiralling. “I thought: ‘Shit, I might not be able to have children. It actually might not happen,’” he says.
“It started with me thinking about how I’m looking to buy a house, and everything is happening too late in my life,” Connor says. “Then I started worrying about how long it would take me to save again to get married, after I buy the house. I was doing the maths on that – when will I be able to afford to be married, own a house and start having kids? Probably in my 40s. Then I started freaking out about what the quality of my sperm will be like by then. What if something’s wrong with the child? And then I thought, oh no, what if me and my girlfriend don’t work out? I’ll be in an even worse scenario in a few years.”
Continue reading...Judge expected to award damages worth C$13.4m (£7.7m) to hundreds affected by disgraced doctor’s methods
Hundreds of victims of a disgraced Canadian fertility doctor, including more than a dozen children conceived using his sperm, are set to share a proposed C$13.375m (£7.707m) class-action settlement – the first of its kind in the world.
On Wednesday, an Ontario court certified a class action suit against Ottawa-based Norman Barwin. The legal action was first launched in 2016.
Continue reading...Barrett signed newspaper ad in 2006 sponsored by St Joseph County Right to Life, an extreme anti-choice group
Amy Coney Barrett, the Trump administration’s supreme court nominee, publicly supported an organization in 2006 that has said life begins at fertilization. It has also said that the discarding of unused or frozen embryos created in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) process ought to be criminalized, a view that is considered to be extreme even within the anti-abortion movement.
The revelation is likely to lead to new questions about how Barrett’s personal views on abortion may not only shape reproductive rights in the US for decades to come if she is confirmed by the Senate, but how her appointment could affect legal rights for women undergoing fertility treatment, as well as their doctors.
Continue reading...Bill is Emmanuel Macron’s biggest social reform since he was elected in 2017
France has taken a step towards allowing lesbian and single women to conceive children with medical help, setting the stage for a clash with the country’s religious conservatives.
To loud applause, France’s lower house of parliament approved a draft bioethics law in a move that has already sparked outrage from opponents, including some in President Emmanuel Macron’s own centrist party.
Continue reading...A 73-year-old woman in southern India who has given birth to healthy twin girls may be the oldest woman to conceive. Mangayamma Yaramati started the menopause 25 years ago and so an egg was taken from a donor and fertilised with her 82-year-old husband Sitarama Rajarao’s sperm through IVF. She conceived in the first cycle and was found to be pregnant in January
Continue reading...Mangayamma Yaramati and babies in good health, say doctors in Andhra Pradesh
A 73-year-old woman in southern India who has given birth to healthy twin girls described motherhood as “the happiest time of my life”.
The babies were delivered through caesarean section on Thursday. Uma Shankar, the woman’s doctor, told the Guardian the mother and her children were in good health.
Continue reading...Operation could benefit thousands of women who experience serious health issues
A medical procedure that aims to allow women to delay the menopause for up to 20 years has been launched by IVF specialists in Britain.
Doctors claim the operation could benefit thousands of women who experience serious health problems, such as heart conditions and bone-weakening osteoporosis, that are brought on by the menopause.
Continue reading...Despite a senior colleague’s protests, Jean Purdy’s name was not included on memorial
The name of a female nurse and embryologist who played a crucial role in developing the world’s first test-tube baby was excluded from a plaque honouring the pioneers of IVF despite objections from her colleagues, newly released letters reveal.
Jean Purdy was one of three scientists whose groundbreaking work led to the birth of the first IVF baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. Yet her central role was largely forgotten in the rush to praise her colleagues, Prof Sir Robert Edwards and the surgeon Patrick Steptoe.
Continue reading...US scientist says it will be possible to rank embryos by ‘potential IQ’ within 10 years
Couples undergoing IVF treatment could be given the option to pick the “smartest” embryo within the next 10 years, a leading US scientist has predicted.
Stephen Hsu, senior vice president for research at Michigan State University, said scientific advances mean it will soon be feasible to reliably rank embryos according to potential IQ, posing profound ethical questions for society about whether or not the technology should be adopted.
Continue reading...