Posts Tagged ‘in vitro’

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) has expelled Dr. Michael Kamrava, the physician famous for transferring numerous embryos via in vitro fertilization to Nadya Suleman, who later went on to give birth to octuplets. Dr. Kamrava of the West Coast IVF Clinic in Beverly Hills, California transferred six embryos into Ms. Suleman’s uterus – it’s believed that two of those embryos split into twins, leading to the birth of eight infants. In patient younger than 35 years of age, ASRM guidelines say that only one or two embryos can be transferred to reduce the risk of multiple births. Provider tracking data apparently shows that Dr. Kamrava transferred, on average, 4.1 embryos to patients under 35. [via Medical News Today]

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A Los Angeles fertility clinic has sparked controversy by offering parents the ability to select the sex, hair color and eye color of babies. However, “designer babies” have actually been here for many years already. The technology, called preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), is currently used during in vitro fertilization to screen embryos for genetic diseases (such as Huntington’s disease, sickle cell anemia, muscular dystrophy) prior to implantation into the mother’s womb. The difference now is that you are selectively choosing an embryo based on physical traits.  The LA Fertility Institute’s first such designer baby is expected to be born next year and will no doubt spark discussions of ethics and morality.

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Researchers across the US are awaiting an imminent lift on the current embryonic stem cell research ban. The Obama administration is expected to overturn the policy set forth by former President George W. Bush later this week. Unlike adult stem cells, embryonic stem cells are derived from eggs that have been artificially fertilized in an in vitro fertilization clinic, and then donated for research purposes with informed consent of the donors. Embryonic stem cells can become any of the 220 types of cells in the body, whereas adult stem cells are more limited. Scientists at the University of California, Irvine have already developed a therapy based on embryonic stem cells which made paralyzed rats walk again. Earlier this month they were given federal approval to be the first embryonic stem cell treatment to be tested in humans.

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A British baby due this week will become the first child to be born with certainty that it does not have the BRCA1 gene mutation. Approximately 5% to 10% of breast cancers are believed to be due to genetic mutations inherited from parents – the most common being the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes.  Because the British couple conceived through in virto fertilization, they were able to screen for cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s disease, and now BRCA1, at the 6 to 8 cell stage prior to implanting the embryo into the mother’s womb. All the women on the father’s side of the family have developed breast cancer, which is why the couple decided on genetic screening. Women who inherit the BRCA1 gene have up to an 80% increase in risk of developing breast cancer.

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