In America alone there are 6.1 million couples coping with infertility (ASRM). In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of the many assisted reproductive technologies used to help infertile couples achieve pregnancy. Since IVF is costly (the average cost is $12, 400. for one cycle), time consuming and a very emotional situation, many couples have a limited amount of opportunities to commit to the procedure and every step should be taken to maximize the chances of a successful healthy pregnancy. Preimplantation genetic diagnosis, or PGD, is a valuable tool for infertility treatment technology and can facilitate in successful IVF cycles.
The IVF procedure involves removal of eggs from the female's ovaries using an ultrasound guided needle and fertilizing them in a laboratory with the male's sperm. After a certain period of incubation, the fertilized embryos are transferred back into the female's uterus. Successful implantation of a healthy embryo into the uterine lining would need to take place for the woman to become pregnant. PGD enables reproductive endocrinologists to test the chromosomal structure of a three-day embryo prior to transfer to the woman's womb (Werlin). The process begins by using DNA probes to biopsy the embryo at the eight-cell stage of development (Figure A). One cell, or blastomere, is removed for analyzing through a small opening in the outer membrane. It is then tested for chromosomal abnormalities. It is only necessary to access one cell from the embryo because in most cases, all the cells will have the same genetic makeup. The remaining embryo is unharmed and placed in an incubator to resume development. If the testing of the blastomere proves the normal chromosomal makeup, the embryo is then trans...
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Werlin, Lawrence B. Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD). Copyright 2003 About, Inc. http://infertility.about.com/library/ifctr/blpgd.htm
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PGD has proven effective in patients who are of advanced age, have had recurrent miscarriages or repeated IVF failure and are either carriers of chromosomal diseases or have genetic history of such. PGD is used with an IVF to identify chromosomal mutations and genetic defects in embryos, where a cell from IVF is removed for genetic testing before implanting it into the uterus. This can either be performed as polar body biopsy,
For many years, infertile couples have had difficulty facing the reality that they can not have children. According to Nidus Information Services Incorporated, 6.2 million women in the United States are infertile. This problem leads to many options. A few options have been used for a long period of time: the couple could adopt a child or keep trying to have a child themselves. For those couples that want to have their own children, there are new options arising. In vetro fertilization is an option that gives couples the chance to have a doctor combine the male's sperm and the woman's eggs in a petri dish and implant them into the woman's womb after the artificial conception. This may result in multiple pregnancies - more than five in some cases. This does not only occur in implantation, however. Many times the patient's doctor will ask her to consider selective reduction: aborting a few fetuses to save the ones she can. In a case of multiple pregnancy, selective reduction should be considered an option.
For just thousands of dollars more, women going through in vitro fertilization can later choose to have a certain gender with perfect vision, a great heart, a natural ability for sports, and being able to avoid diseases (Angelle). Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis was first inaugurated in 1990. “It has become an important complement to the presently available approaches for prevention of genetic disorders and an established clinical option in reproductive medicine” (Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis). This has come in handy because it gives you the opportunity to create a baby free of health risks and you are able to freeze your eggs if you miscarry or if something harmful goes wrong with the first egg. Designer babies are created using In Vitro Fertilization. Using this technique, doctors can fertilize the egg with sperm inside the laboratory using a test tube. Doing so you can reduce the chance of the child being born with a genetic disorder and the parents can actually then on choose the sex of the baby. In some cases couples have used PGD to their advantage to save one of their children. Some babies sole purpose is to be created to save the life of their own sibling. Jamie was the first “designer” baby in Britain. “He was genetically matched to his four-year-old brother, Charlie, in the hope to curing a rare type of anaemia which threatens the older boy...
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a complex series of procedures used to help those who want children but struggle with infertility. The process consists of extracting eggs from a woman and collecting a man’s sperm sample then manually combining them in a lab dish. Once the embryo(s) are created they are transferred to a woman’s uterus. IVF is commonly used in woman who cannot conceive on their own due to different reasonings. “These include but are not limited to blocked or damaged fallopian tubes, male factor infertility, woman with ovulation disorders, genetic disorders, woman who have had their fallopian tubes removed and unexplained infertility.” (American Pregnancy)
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In my opinion, In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is one of the greatest breakthroughs in Medical Biotechnology in the last 50 years. Finding out you are infertile can be heart-breaking and distressing. After trying for long periods of time, some couples are not able to conceive. Thankfully, this problem many couples have can be fixed by In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), a process that was developed and used in Britain first more than 30 years ago by Doctors Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. In 1978, the world’s first IVF baby was born into the world and since thousands and thousands of babies have been born every year using this method.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2.1 million married couples experience troubles with infertility. Infertility is defined as trying for over a year and not becoming pregnant for women under 35 and trying for six months for women over 35. The cause of the infertility is a male factor one third of the instances, female another third, ten percent of the cause is a combination of both male and female factors and the remaining twenty percent is not apparent. In vitro fertilization is a process that tries to eliminate the problems inherent in the mother and father. It involves an egg is fer...
The use of fertility treatments in recent years has been accompanied by an increase in the number of multiple births seen annually. The twin birth rate has increased by 59% since 1980, and the triplet and higher order multiples birth rate is up 423% (Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughter’s, 2004). There are two main forms of assisted reproductive therapy (ART) that are used currently. These are ovulation induction using fertility drugs alone and In vitro fertilization (IVF).
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Prenatal genetic screening in particular is a polarizing topic of discussion, more specifically, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). PGD is one of the two techniques commonly used to genetically screen embryos in vitro; it is usually done at the eight-cell stage of division. PGD is most often performed when there is the risk that one or both parents carry disease-causing mutations. It is extensively used by high-risk individuals trying to conceive babes who will be free of particular mutations. PGD can test for over 50 genetic conditions and even allows for sex selection if there are underlying gender-associated medical conditions. When the results are satisfactory, the selected embryo is implanted into the mother’s uterus. While a controversial technique, preimplantation genetic diagnosis is one example of some of the good genetic testing can do, more benefits will be furthe...