varoblog

(sz) It’s not just heterosexual couples who are crossing borders to visit desi infertility clinics any more, as same sex couples too are dropping the occasional request.
An Israeli gay couple who recently fathered twins at a city hospital are probably among the first beneficiaries of the city’s surrogate programme.
In a country where same sex couples are often shunned, their yearning to parent kids finds support in a list of guidelines drawn up by the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) which recommends that “single unmarried women or a lesbian couple or a gay couple” should be allowed to use artificial reproductive techniques (ARTs) to have children.
The progressive guidelines are difficult to implement for foreigners, say doctors, who point out that ART for medical tourists remains a grey territory under law.
It then remains the doctor’s prerogative to take up such cases. Israeli couple Richard and Peter (name changed), who chanced upon a website of a desi infertility specialist, got help at a Bandra clinic. Peter’s sperm was fused with a donor’s eggs and implanted in a surrogate mother who delivered the twins at Hiranandani Hospital on September 17. more…

From: »The Times Of India«

(sz) genX International, Inc andIVFonline, LLC (genX international and IVFonline) today warned thatcounterfeit Coda(R) products are being sold to some IVF clinics. Theseproducts are NOT manufactured, sold or distributed by genX International andIVFonline. Therefore, genX International and IVFonline does not guaranteethese counterfeit Coda(R) products and genX International cannot guaranteethat the products are free from contamination, in compliance with FDAregulations for medical devices, or should be used at all.
While the investigation is ongoing, genX International and IVFonlinebelieve that the counterfeit products are being sold on the Internet andthrough other channels. The counterfeit products include Coda(R) Towerreplacement filters, Coda(R) Lo-boy replacement filters, Coda(R) Incubatorfilters, and Coda(R) In-line filters. The counterfeit products are notmanufactured or distributed by genX International and IVFonline, and theseunits have no connection with genX International and IVFonline. genXInternational and IVFonline are working diligently to identify and stop thoseresponsible for the sale and distribution of these counterfeit products. more…

From: »Reuters«

(sz) The first human embryo to be created after an ovarian tissue transplant may signal hope for hundreds of thousands of women made infertile by cancer treatment.
Researchers have been attempting to transplant ovarian tissue in humans for many years but this is the first time that they have obtained good quality eggs from a transplant and a viable embryo.
Kutluk Oktay, at Cornell University in New York, and colleagues took a strip of ovarian tissue from a 30-year-old woman with breast cancer before chemotherapy made her infertile. They froze the tissue and six years later transplanted it beneath the skin of her abdomen.
After three months, the tissue started functioning normally and produced eggs. Those that were viable were fertilised in the test tube, resulting in one promising embryo.
“This research represents a potentially significant reproductive advancement in two respects: first, women can preserve their fertility by freezing their ovarian tissue, and second, pregnancy may be possible even after the tissue remains frozen for a long time,” said Oktay. more…

From: »Hindustan Times«

(cz) The Lifeline Institute of Fertility Expertise (LIFE), a department of Lifeline Multi-Speciality Hospital, was inaugurated in Chennai recently by Tamil Nadu Minister for Social Welfare, Poongothai Aladi Aruna. The Minister unveiled the plaque on this occasion.
LIFE, comprising seven members, is headed by Dr Uma Ramesh. Today, infertility among couples is on the rise. About 15 per cent to 20 per cent of married couples are affected by this problem. “There is an increase in infertility among young couples mainly due to the stress, anxiety, long working hours and unhygienic food. At Lifeline, we have set up a high-end fertility clinic which would not only treat these couples but also counsel them,” said Dr J S Rajkumar, chairman, Lifeline Multi-Specialty Hospitals.
The Minister, in her inaugural address, said one should be aware that infertility is the outcome of poor sexual practice. Sustained medical practice and prevention of sexually transmitted diseases will prevent up to 30 per cent to 40 percent of infertility. The Indian Council for Medical Research has unveiled guidelines to regulate infertility treatment in India, she added. more…

From: »Chennai Online«

(wz) In order to facilitate collaborative research on ‘In Vitro Fertilisation’ (IVF) and human reproduction, Andhra University inked a pact with Krishna IVF Clinic here on Saturday.
AU Registrar P Vijaya Prakash and Krishna IVG Clinic director GA Ramaraju signed the pact in the presence of Vice- Chancellor L Venugopal Reddy.
Reddy said the University is planning to introduce specialisations in embryology and andrology at postgraduate level besides research programmes in biotechnology, pharmacy, genetics, biochemistry and microbiology with special thrust on clinical pharmacology. more…

From: »newindpress.com«

(cz) Over 4,000 in vitro fertilization (IVF) babies have been born in Vietnam since French specialists first helped with IVF program at Tu Du Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City a decade ago.
IVF in Vietnam has made great advancements since the country was involved in the first program in 1997, Tu Du’s Artificial Reproductive Technology Deputy Director Vuong Thi Ngoc Lan said. The doctor said Vietnam is leading the ASEAN region in IVF technologies.
Artificial reproductive technology (ART) is the science of taking female eggs and male sperm out of the body and replacing the fertilized egg into the woman’s body.
There are 500 to 2,000 IVF cases per one million inhabitants in developing countries like Vietnam every year. About five percent of cases are successful. Vietnam’s first successful IVF cycle was started in 1997 and the first three IVF babies were born on April 30, 1998. more…

From: »ThanhnienNews«

The role of fathers would be “radically undermined” by legislation aimed at making it easier for lesbian couples to become parents through fertility treatment, the most senior Roman Catholic clergyman in England and Wales has warned.
Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor expressed strong opposition to the proposed legislation contained in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill to be debated in the House of Lords.
The Bill includes recognition of same-sex couples as legal parents, and removes the necessity for IVF clinics to consider the “need for a father” when exercising their duty to take account of an unborn child’s welfare.
In a letter to The Times, the Cardinal said: “The Bill proposes to remove the need for IVF providers to take into account the child’s need for a father when considering an IVF application, and to confer legal parenthood on people who have no biological relationship to a child born as a result of IVF.
“This radically undermines the place of the father in a child’s life, and makes the natural rights of the child subordinate to the desires of the couple. It is profoundly wrong.” more…

From: »Guardian Unlimited«

(sz) Adding another layer of competition to the mating game, scientists are reporting possible biochemical proof that the reproductive system of female mammals can “sense” the presence of sperm and react to it by changing the uterine environment. This may be the molecular mechanism behind post-copulatory sexual selection, in which females that have mated with several partners play a role in determining which sperm fertilizes their egg.
Lead author Alireza Fazeli says that the deep new molecular insights into this post-coital “ladies’ choice” has profound implications for in-vitro fertilization (IVF), cloning, and animal breeding. It is also a windfall for evolutionary biology, providing a possible explanation for female promiscuity in the animal kingdom, he adds.
Fazeli’s international scientific team reports the first chemical evidence of a sperm recognition system in the oviducts of pigs — standard animals for such research because their reproductive systems are similar to humans. more…

From: »ScienceDaily«

(wz) A 2003 recommendation by the Israel Obstetrics Society to implant no more than two embryos during in-vitro fertilization (IVF) has significantly reduced the number of triplets and very low birth-weight (VLBW) babies (up to 1.5 kilos) born since then.
The reduction in the number of VLBW babies has saved considerable amounts of money on expensive hospitalization in neonatal intensive care units and minimized the number of disabled infants.
This was disclosed in a Health Ministry report, “Database of VLBW Infants for 2005 and Trends for the Years 1995-2005,” which was released for publication on Sunday.
Previously, fertility experts had implanted many more embryos in the hope that at least one would become successfully implanted and reach maturity in the uterus.
In 1996, the number of VLBW babies born was 1,333, while it rose to 1,648 four years later. A total of 533 were from multiple pregnancies produced by IVF in 1996, compared to 730 in 2000. But with implementation of the society’s recommendation, the number of VLBW babies born declined to 1,497, with only 610 of them in multiple pregnancies. more…

From: »The Jerusalem Post«

(sz) Scientists at the University of Leeds, renowned leaders in the field of reproductive biology, have joined forces with JSR Genetics in a project that could improve embryo implantation rates - in pigs and eventually humans.
Pregnapause, a Techtran/IP Group funded spin-out company led by Dr Nicolas Orsi, Dr Nadia Gopichandran and Mr David Brooke have teamed up with Dr Grant Walling, JSR’s Director of Research and Genetics. The now seven-strong team commenced their collaboration in October 2007, after discovering valuable correlations between their two fields of research. Dr Orsi explains, “As part of the isolation procedure essential to both AI and IVF treatments, sperm is separated from seminal fluid and we believe that, following this, the incidence of embryo rejection may be higher. It seems that some components of seminal fluid are capable of suppressing the female’s immune system, enough to allow embryos to implant into the uterus, whilst still retaining the ability to fight infection. Our research focuses on finding the agents responsible. If we can isolate and supply them by other means we could create a more receptive environment in the uterus and improve implantation rates.”
Whilst the recipients of AI and IVF treatments are worlds apart, the techniques and potential problems are very similar, certainly in the initial stages. more…

From: »The PigSite«