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Assisted Reproductive Technologies

Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Overview. Infertility: inability of a couple to have a baby Caused by low sperm, lack of hormones, disease, some medical treatment (ex. chemo)

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Assisted Reproductive Technologies

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  1. Assisted Reproductive Technologies

  2. Overview • Infertility: inability of a couple to have a baby • Caused by low sperm, lack of hormones, disease, some medical treatment (ex. chemo) • Assisted reproduction technologies: most technologies involve removing a woman’s eggs, fertilizing them, then returning the embryos to the uterus • Uterus: female organ where an embryo (which becomes a fetus) develops and is nourished

  3. Artificial Insemination (AI) • Collects sperm from a male and injects it into a female • Been used for over 200 years, especially on farms (ex. dairy cattle) • Donor sperm may be used if the male partner’s isn’t healthy • Too few sperm or inactive sperm

  4. In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) • Used to treat specific fertility problems • “in vitro mean in glass  egg is fertilized in a petri dish • Common issue: something is blocking the sperm and egg from meeting • IVF takes eggs from woman and sperm from man and combines them • Placed back in uterus after 2-4 days • Goal is to have one of the fertilized embryos implanted

  5. Woman will receive powerful hormone treatment to increase # of eggs she produces • Success rate: 1 out of 3 couples • Age of woman is a factor

  6. Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer (GIFT) • Egg cells are removed from ovaries and combined with sperm cells, creating a mixture • Mixture placed in fallopian tubes so fertilization takes place in body • Differs from IVF because embryo is NOT produced outside of body

  7. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection • A specialized procedure where a single sperm cell is injected into an egg cell • Zygote is then inserted into the woman’s uterus • Used when the male has severe fertility problems or when in vitro has been unsuccessful • About 25% result in births

  8. Impact of Reproductive Technologies on Society Reproductive technologies help couples that would otherwise be infertile have children. However, there are concerns and questions being raised over these practices... • Some evidence that conception by IVF may cause a slightly higher number of birth defects

  9. What to do with embryos that are left over in IVF process • Extra embryos can be frozen then used for stem cell and gene therapy research • Some feel that it’s wrong to do this with something that could develop into a human being • Is it fair to keep identity of father a secret if it was an anonymous sperm donor? • Surrogacy – giving birth to a child that someone else will raise • What if people change their minds?

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