The Big Question:
Has research on embryos produced any significant medical advances yet?
(wz) Why are we asking this now?
Reforms to the law governing embryology research being voted on by MPs yesterday and today will determine the direction of research in this area for a generation. The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill was drawn to update the existing law, to keep pace with scientific advance and social changes, for the first time since it was introduced in 1990. Gordon Brown described the research at the weekend as a “moral endeavour” that could save thousands of lives.
What has it actually achieved so far?
Quite a lot. By far the most important advance has been in the practice of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) itself. In the quarter century since the birth of Louise Brown, the world’s first test-tube baby, in 1978, the technique of creating embryos in the laboratory and implanting them in the womb has come on by leaps and bounds. Two decades ago, success rates for IVF were around 14 live births per 100 cycles of treatment. They improved steadily through the 1990s and are now well over 20 per cent live births, with rates of over 40 per cent in younger age groups in some clinics. However, almost four patients are still disappointed for every one that goes home with a baby, so there is still a lot further to go.
How was it done?
By experimenting on human embryos, altering the culture medium in which they grow in the laboratory, learning how to spot healthy from unhealthy embryos, exploring new techniques for inserting the fertilised embryos back in the womb and inducing them to implant. Different drug regimes have been tried to stimulate egg production by the woman, prior to extraction and fertilisation, and different techniques used to achieve fertilisation, either in the laboratory or in the womb. more…
From: »The Independent«