varoblog

(cz) McGuinty’s proposed panel of experts could pave the way for increased coverage of in-vitro treatments and adoption expenses.
Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty said yesterday that he would create an expert panel on fertility if he is re-elected, a move that may lead to financial assistance for couples trying to expand their families.
Under his plan, all women in Ontario older than 29 would also have access to fertility screening as part of their annual checkup, a service that would cost the province an estimated $5-million to 10-million a year.
“With this information they can make informed choices about their family planning and work pro-actively with their doctors to find ways to address any problems or concerns,” Mr. McGuinty said.
Although the Liberal Party would not say who would be appointed to the fertility panel, policy advisers inside the campaign said it would be made up of representatives from medical and adoption communities and could issue recommendations within six to 12 months. more…

From: »National / globeandmail« (Canada)

(wz) Interesting issues arise under US immigration and nationality law when a child is born through in vitro fertilization (IVF). According to Wikipedia, IVF is a technique in which the egg cells are fertilized by sperm outside the woman’s womb. The process involves hormonally controlling the ovulatory process, removing ova from the woman’s ovaries and letting sperm fertilize the fluid medium. The fertilized egg or zygote is then transferred to the patient’s uterus with the intent to establish a successful pregnancy.
Take the hypothetical example of Sam and Paul, who are a same sex couple, legally married in Massachusetts. Both are US citizens and desirous of having a child. They have a friend, Marlene, who lives in South Africa and is willing to serve as a surrogate mother. Marlene is a citizen of South Africa who, unfortunately, was refused a temporary visa to come to the United States for this purpose. Sam and Paul are very keen on having the child, and arrange for Marlene to carry the child to term in South Africa. Sam’s sperm is used to fertilize the ova of an anonymous donor (who is not a US citizen) in vitro, and the fertilized egg is then implanted into Marlene’s uterus in South Africa. Marlene successfully gives birth to a bonnie baby girl, Donna, in South Africa, on August 15, 2007.
At issue is whether Donna acquired US citizenship at the time of birth? Donna’s situation is akin to a child born out of wedlock to a US citizen father outside the US. The marriage between Paul and Sam is not recognized under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). If Donna was born on US soil, there would be no issue as she would be automatically considered a citizen regardless of any of her parents’ nationality or marital status. Her citizenship has become an issue because of her birth outside the US. more…

From: »Immigration Daily«

(sz) A couple who fear their child could inherit a rare form of Alzheimer’s are to undergo embryo screening to eliminate the risk.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority has granted a licence to a fertility clinic to carry out IVF treatment with the sole aim of ensuring that the dementia, which can take hold from the age of 35, is not passed on.
Early-onset Alzheimer’s can be passed down the generations and now joins the growing list of inheritable conditions for which doctors are allowed to test embryos.
The technique has sparked controversy because there is a one in four chance of discarding unaffected embryos. Opponents fear screening will lead to “designer babies” where parents choose hair colour, athletic ability and intelligence.
The Bridge Centre has been granted a licence by the authority to screen embryos for Charl and Danielle de Beer, from London. Specialists will only implant embryos that are not carrying the gene defect that leads to early onset of Alzheimer’s. more…

From: »The Daily Telegraph«

(sz) This month the Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area, one of nation’s oldest IVF practices, launches “Fertile Awakenings,” one of the first programs to provide coordinated care by a team of traditional western fertility specialists and complementary and alternative medical practitioners.
Though the medical community is divided about complementary and alternative medical approaches to infertility, many patients have been using them successfully. However, it is rare for their care to be coordinated between all medical providers.
The program includes a panel of RSC physicians and the Fertile Awakenings team of alternative practitioners, who will review infertility treatment for patients on a case-by-case basis. When appropriate, they will recommend complementary treatment to be offered at RSC clinics as well as other locations, such as acupuncture at RSC’s Orinda clinic, mindfulness training and stress reduction courses at RSC’s San Ramon location, confidential phone coaching, and uterine massage and nutritional counseling at Harmony Acupuncture.
“It is becoming more common for infertility practices to offer a multidisciplinary approach, integrating western and eastern medicine, along with a Mind/Body program. There is some evidence that this combined approach may improve success for some couples,” said Louis Weckstein, M.D., IVF and Medical Director of RSC. more…

From: »EarthTimes«

(wz) An Australian woman who gave birth to twins instead of a single baby after receiving in-vitro fertilization has sued her doctor for the cost of bringing up the second child.
The woman, who cannot be identified because of a court order, is seeking more than 400,000 Australian dollars (US $332,000) to cover the expense of raising one child until age 21.
Testifying in the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory on Tuesday, the 40-year-old mother said she told her doctor, Robert Armellin, that she only wanted one child. But an embryologist under the doctor’s supervision implanted two embryos in her uterus, resulting in the birth of non-identical twin girls. more…

From: »MSNBC / AP«

(sz) ertility experts at the McGill Reproductive Centre have released promising results of a new form of in vitro fertilization they say is faster, cheaper and safer than the traditional way of making “test-tube” babies.
The new method not only spares women the costly hormones they have to inject into their bodies to “ripen” their eggs for harvesting, but has been shown to freeze those eggs successfully. It also gives women an option of freezing eggs for later use if they are not ready - for personal or career reasons - to have a child right away.
Seang Lin Tan, director of the centre, predicted the new combined technique - known as IVM OV - won’t replace traditional IVF but will become an option to a growing number of women.
“It will play a greater and greater role,” Tan said in an interview after presenting his findings at the 14th World Congress on In Vitro Fertilization, taking place in Montreal this week.
“The advantages are that the combined method simplifies treatment and reduces cost, and it avoids potential side-effects.” more…

From: »The Gazette« (Canada)

(wz) Australia has lost another of its leading scientists, with the appointment of stem cell and IVF pioneer Alan Trounson to a position in the US.
Professor Trounson, 61, who helped derive some of the earliest human embryonic stem cell colonies in the late-1990s, is widely regarded as the country’s top stem cell scientist.
The internationally respected director of Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories is the latest in a growing list of senior medical researchers who have joined the brain drain overseas for better wages and greater opportunities.
He will take up the role of president of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine later this year. With a $US3 billion budget, the program is the largest research effort in the world devoted to human embryonic stem cells, which many scientists believe can help develop therapies for diseases such as Parkinson’s.
“It doesn’t get bigger than this,” Professor Trounson told The Sunday Age yesterday. “This is the biggest job in stem cells in the world. It is a fantastic opportunity to be able to help … make stem cell therapies a reality.” more…

From: »The Age« (Australia)

(cz) Inspection reports by the Irish Medicines Board on Ireland’s eight assisted conception clinics cover the period between January and July 2007.
None of the clinics were found by the IMB to have what are termed “critical deficiencies”. However, the reports noted “major” deficiencies for all of the clinics. IMN offered all of the clinics a right of reply to the reports.
Because the Medicines Board is the licensing authority for assisted conception establishments, it has to inspect all the facilities to ensure they comply with EU legislation on setting standards for donation, procurement, testing, processing, preservation, storage and distribution of human tissues and cells.
None of the deficiencies highlighted in its inspections related to difficulties with patient care or the level of service provided, but ranged from facilities, storage, forms and donor consent supervision. more….

From: »Irish Medical News«

(cz) Newly listed biotech and equipment supplier NuSep is involved in clinical trials for its wondrously named Sperm Sorter.
Most people in the Australian life sciences community will remember Gradipore, the company that produced the Gradiflow-branded electrophoresis instruments for protein separation.
Gradipore has morphed into the plasma-focused biotech Life Therapeutics and has now produced NuSep, a bioseparations specialist that has quite a few strings to its bow.
Gradiflow is a technology that many life scientists would be familiar with. A membrane-based process for large-scale protein separations, it is able to separate target macromolecules from complex biological solutions based on their size and electrical charge. >more…

From: »Australian LifeScientist (Biotechnews)«

(sz) There’s no such thing as a good day to hear your doctor utter the terrifying words “breast cancer,” but when Stacey Bolton was diagnosed on September 11, 2006, no one would have blamed her for seeing the 9/11 anniversary as a bad omen. As it happens, the 32-year old Ottawa resident is an optimist.
“My first question was ‘What does this mean about babies?’” she says. “Of course, I was told that what I needed to be worried about was saving my own life, but I explained that it was very important to me that I take care of the children I will have one day.”
A fertility expert in Ottawa referred Bolton to the McGill Reproductive Centre and its founder, Dr. Seang Lin Tan, Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Obstetrician and Gynecologist-in-Chief of the McGill University Health Centre. Within a week, she had been assessed, admitted and had eight of her eggs collected for the relatively new process of in vitro maturation, or IVM.
Bolton is among a group of former and current fertility patients addressing the 14th World Congress on In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and the Third World Congress on In Vitro Maturation (IVM), to be held in Montreal September 15-19, 2007. Among those who have agreed to speak are the parents of the world’s first baby conceived from an in vitro matured and previously cryopreserved, or frozen, oocyte. more…

From: »McGill Reporter«