Expert calls for vigilance on IVF problems
(wz) As humans become more dependent on reproductive technologies, an Australian reproductive biologist say we must remain vigilant to avoid the spread of genetic or epigenetic defects.
The warning comes in an editorial by Professor John Aitken, of the University of Newcastle, in the current issue of Expert Review of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
“People shouldn’t be too confident that just because the baby looks normal there is no damage there that won’t appear later in life,” he says.
“People underestimate how much genetic damage they’re passing onto the embryos.”
Aitken says 1 in every 35 babies born in Australia are a result of IVF.
“In some countries it’s more like 1 in 20 and there are models that predict it will be 1 in 10 before too long,” he says.
Aitken says because IVF allows infertile men to reproduce, the more we use it the more it will be needed in the future.
“So we better make sure it’s safe because a large proportion of the population will be generated in this way,” he says. more…
From: »ABC Science« (Australia)