I personally know a lot about IVF, or in vitro fertilization, because my youngest brother and sister (twins) were conceived this way. It really is an amazing process, but not without it's ups and downs. My parents went through this expensive process three times, and the twins were born on their second try. Despite remembering the process and what my parents told me about it quite well, I did go to the APA, or American Pregnancy Association, website just for some fact checking.
So, what is IVF? According to the APA, In Vitro Fertilization is the "process of fertilization by manually combining an egg and a sperm in a laboratory dish, and then transferring the embryo to the uterus."
Who is a potential candidate? This technology can be used to combat many fertility problems. This can include a low sperm count in men, blocked fallopian tubes, and genetic disorders, among other things. It gives people who want to conceive the chance if they cannot on their own.
How much does it cost? However, it is quite costly. The APA cites the cost as anywhere between 12,000- 17,000 dollars for a single cycle. It is not always covered by insurance. Many couples may do more than one cycle.
What is the success rate? Obviously, there are many factors that go into a success rate. Depending on what condition you have, it may be harder or easier to work with this process. The APA also made a really important point that pregnancy rates are not synonymous with birth rates. This process does not guarantee that you will end up with a child, and you still have to pay the hefty fee regardless.
A very consistent factor that effects the success rate is your age-- the younger you are, the more likely you are to conceive a child during this process. After age forty, the success rate is between 13-18%.
When my parents did IVF, the doctors fertilized multiple embryos and inserted them all to increase the chances of conception. This is often why multiples are associated with the In Vitro process.
Okay Dani, why is this relevant? The reason I am posting about IVF, and not other various fertilization technologies is because I saw IVF very specifically popping up in many articles that I read. It seems to be the process that would be coupled with CRISPR/Cas9, because the future of genome editing will require removing the eggs and fertilizing them in the fashion of current IVF, to ensure that your designed embryo will be the one that you give birth too.
Another reason that IVF is closely linked to genetic engineering is because of the nature of the procedure-- since it is often people who have problems with fertility, the embryos are often screened for 'viability', or which of them is most likely to survive. I did not remember my parents doing this, but when I asked my mom about it, she said that the twins embryos were deemed the most viable after a scan was done. According to her, the scan was done to see which ones where the "strongest and healthiest".
Another great thing that I found while doing this research is the IVF itself has been up to some other pretty controversial business: According to an article in the New York Times Magazine, 1996 was the year of the first 'three-parent IVF'. What this means is that an embryo was successfully inserted with three types of DNA. It began with a scientist who had tried to conceive through IVF for over seven years. When she still was not conceiving through this process, she decided to take part in an experimental procedure, which involved fertilizing her egg with her husband's sperm like normal-- but then adding a small amount of cytoplasm from the egg of someone else. The woman finally gave birth to a healthy baby girl from this process, and was the first to do so. Others soon followed. Although no third party DNA was found in the daughter's cells, she was still technically a 'three-parent child'. Third party DNA was indeed found in some of the other cases. Since the side effects of the procedure could not be known, there was some wariness in continuing the process, especially when rare disorders showed up in some cases. The article goes on further to discuss the developments and mitochondria, but I found this story so incredibly interesting, and I wonder if in the future we will see this as a normal occurrance.
Where am I at? I feel that much of this blog has been more about the research that I'm doing than how I feel about it. I am very in support of IVF, and that may just be because of my close ties to it, but before starting this project I had no idea how closely it was related to this subject of 'designer babies'. I think that, in cases such as my parents, there is no harm in doing this. My parents were not after a blonde child, or an athletic child, they were just simply after a child. I think in other cases, where you have a genetic disease such as huntingtons, there is nothing wrong with genetically engineering an embryo so that they do not have to have that illness. As much as I understand the argument of letting nature take it's course, with the technology that we possess I see no reason not to create a world with less suffering. However, I do admit that it will have to be strictly regulated in order for this to exist. And regulations will also come with controversy-- where is the cut off? How do you say which diseases are okay to edit out and which are not?
I would love to hear what you guys think about this-- after following my research, has your opinion changed? Are you on the fence? Do you have more questions? I know I do.
--Dani
"In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): Side Effects and Risks." American Pregnancy Association. N.p., 24 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 July 2016. <http://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/in-vitro-fertilization/>.
Nicely done. I've followed your blog the whole way and I feel as if you came full circle. I like how you added the personal story. I guess I do have one question still. How do you feel about people choosing IVF purely because they want a certain sex of child, or hair and eye color? How would the government need to regulate this so it doesn't get out of hand?
ReplyDeleteI would have to say that I completely support IVF, but when it comes to making a "designer" baby, that is where I personally would draw the line. What are the motives of these people wanting to create a perfect baby? If it were to avoid a disease or dis-figuration of some kind, then maybe, but for just pure vain reasons is not okay in my eyes. We were created the way we are for a reason and when we go messing with that, unless for medical reasons, it could back fire in ways no one could possibly understand until it is too late. You did an amazing job on this project in my eyes and I applaud you.
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