November 2008 Blog Archive
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Prisoners taking part in IVF Treatment
A British prison is allowing male inmates to take part in
IVF treatments so their female partners can have children. The prisoners at Swaleside Jail heard about the news Novembers 23rd through a prison newsletter reading, "Local Notice to Prisoners, Prisoner Access to IVF Treatment." However the process will not be made easy for these men, whoever is interested much fill out an application form and the prison Governor will assess it and ultimately make the final decision. One of the primary concerns and rules for the treatment is,
"the welfare of any child born as a result. Evidence is needed to show that the couple's home is satisfactory."
The prison must make sure the home environment is suitable for a child. The new IVF law has many people bewildered and frustrated, some opposes say allowing prisoners to have such treatments is breeding dysfunctional homes and a bad influence for children. Hopefully the same stringent rules for IVF will be transfer to the Prisoners IVF, meaning that not every couple can get it done, they must actually qualify.
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Controversial IVF Law in Australia
South Australian Parliament says it will allow the use of a dead partner's sperm for
In Vitro Fertilization. Currently South Australia is less lenient laws, they only allow infertile couples or those who might pass on a genetic birth defect to get IVF. This new bill is coming on the wake of the Victoria government in Australia passing laws permitting lesbians and single women the means to get IVF treatment.
ABC Australia reported that a number of women in South Australia who have written consent from their husbands before they passed on to use their sperm are unable to go through with IVF because the laws were so stringent. The South Australian Foreign Minister John Hill said today,
"We've had IVF legislation in South Australia now for 20 or so years and we've been looking at reviewing that legislation for some time."
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Wednesday, November 26, 2008
IVF turns Big Business
With the recent lax laws towards infertility treatments in the state of Victoria in Australia, big business tycoons and corporations are beginning to invest in fertility clinics.
In Vitro Fertilization has become a lucrative field for fertility experts and businessmen alike, while also providing infertile couples with hopes of successfully conceiving. However, such businesses are receiving a hefty dose of scrutiny for cashing in on such serious health problems. Since the new law permitting lesbian couples and single mothers to have infertility treatments like IVF, the numbers have increased by 17%. Proving the demand and popularity in the Southern Hemisphere of being pregnant is still as hot as it is on Robertson Blvd and Rodeo Drive.
Many formerly doctor owned fertility clinics are being bought out and controlled by equity funds. However, these recent acquisitions re definitely to the benefit of the physicians involved, a Monash based clinic reported being sold off for nearly 200 million dollars this last week. Validating the profitability of such industries and the technological advances of infertility treatments. As the industry gets more funding and money, the technologies will further advance and provide aid for infertile couples.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Hollywood Fertility Struggle: Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman has made headlines this week for the debut of his film Australia, but today Jackman is in the news discussing his fertility plight. He and his wife Deborah-Lee Furness struggling to conceive for years, even during trial periods of using
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF).
Jackman told US Magazine in this weeks issue,
"I hope Deb doesn't mind me saying so, but that was a tough, tough time. Physically, you go through a lot with IVF. I was giving Deb injections every day, and hormonally she was all over the place."
For years the dashing duo and his wife tried to conceive naturally, but the emotional turmoil was too much to handle. After two miscarriages and an endless struggle, they opted to adopt a child. With hopes of always having a large family, Jackman and Deborah have two adopted children Oscar and Ava. Much like Cindy Margolis and Jamie Oliver and his wife, Jackman has openly discussed infertility and the options available for couples.
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Monday, November 24, 2008
Surrogates and Egg Donors Rise with Troubled Economy
In today's volatile job market and economic woes many young women are turning to surrogacy and egg donation as a means of financial help. The numbers of
egg donors and
surrogate mothers has increased by 30% in recent months. These women are being paid handsomely as well as helping infertile couples give birth, donors often make $7,000 while surrogate mothers can make as much as $25,000. Alternative Reproductive Resources reported to CBS News that they have seen an influx of women reporting money has their primary reason for offering themselves or their eggs. In fact, one report shows a rise of women in there 20s using the money to pay for college tuition, in a time when student loans are hard to come across.
The spike in egg donations and surrogacy means the possibility of more hope for couples struggling to conceive. Egg donation and surrogacy are both great alternatives if you are struggling with treatments like In Vitro Fertilization. Hopefully in the next few months, national figures and statistics will be released to see if the trend is becoming common in all parts of the country.
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Thursday, November 20, 2008
Age and Pregnancy Complications
Reuters reported today that a study done on 800 women in the UK showed that most women were unaware that age negatively affects pregnancy chances. The study suggests that the vast majority of these middle aged women had no idea that wanting until later in life may cause pregnancy complications and increase chances of an unsuccessful birth. Many of these women had far too much faith in science, more specifically
In Vitro Fertilization and other infertility treatments. Of course the decision to delay childbirth is a personal and complex one, however doctors want women to be aware of the possible consequences as well.
"Only 53 percent of women with fertility problems knew that the chances of conceiving via IVF decline between the ages of 30 and 40. What's more, 85 percent of them thought that fertility treatment can overcome the effect of age."
If numbers are this shockingly high among women, fertility experts and physicians should start educating women on their choices, ramifications and treatments available. As wonderful as fertility treatments are, they can only do so much, a large part of the process depends on the infertile couple and what age they are.
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Sunday, November 16, 2008
Irish Fertility Clinic Refusing Service to Unwed
Unmarried couples struggling with fertility are being turned away at a Galway, Ireland fertility clinic. The company is claiming they want to uphold the lofty values of marriage and the sanctity of the children being brought up in a healthy environment. Dr. Phillip Boyle the head of the fertility clinic defended his stringent decision today saying,
"Defending his stance, Dr Boyle told the Sunday Independent: "The idea is to promote and recognize the legal commitment made by couples who are in for the long haul. Married couples are more likely to stay together and kids do better when then their parents are married."
The clinic hopes that children will be safer with a married couple. Many people are distraught over such discrimination. Especially single women vying for a child.
Infertility treatments like
IVF are commonplace in Ireland, and so too are the success rates. A large number of single women and unmarried couples are treated around the country, so the fact that one doctor in one clinic is employing such regulations may be very unnerving for infertile unwed couples or single women. No other fertility clinics in Europe enforce such laws either.
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Sperm Donors Wanted
Fertility experts warned Britain that they are having a sperm donor shortage around the country. The reason behind the recent dwindling numbers of male donors is because in 2005 the UK passed a confidentiality law permitting children to find their biological fathers. The backlash has been fewer donors.
Allan Pacey a member of the British Fertility Society said to the Associated Press today,
"The only countries that seem to have enough sperm are those that pay - like the U.S. and Spain - or the countries that retain anonymity. In the countries that have removed anonymity ... there seems to be a problem."
The numbers have dropped from 503 sperm donors in the early 1990s to 300 in 2006. The fertility experts say 500 donors a year is the ideal mark to meet in order to satisfy the number of
infertile couples looking for a donation. Hopefully British lawmakers will ease up the stringency on the sperm donor law to increase donation numbers yet again. The Dutch had to do the same thing in 2004 when their anonymity law passed and donor numbers plummeted.
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Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Antidepressant Drugs and Male Infertility
Today at the 64th annual conference of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine in San Francisco researchers discussed how antidepressant drugs may be linked to male infertility. Such drugs increase DNA fragmentation in the sperm. The study is still in it's preliminary stages, however researchers found the five-fold increase in abnormal sperm DNA with men who take antidepressant drugs very alarming.
Paroxetine is the chemical in antidepressants that is found to harm the sperm. The researchers said,
"Paroxetine was also associated with significant sexual dysfunction, with one third of men reporting problems with erectile function and nearly half reporting ejaculatory difficulties."
DNA health is vital for couples trying to conceive, the sperm must be mobile and functioning well to impregnate the woman's egg. Similarly, unhealthy sperm can impede the progress and chances of successful
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatments. Based on such findings the research team is hoping to further their study on male infertility and Paroxetine.
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Monday, November 10, 2008
New Fertility Test Offers Hope
Another stroke of good luck and good news is making it's way around the fertility world. Infertility couples may now have higher chances of successful births after
In Vitro Fertalization (IVF). Comparative genomic hybridisation (CGHA) is a new revolutionary fertility test has been created by British researchers and fertility experts. The test screens embryo for genetic defects during IVF.
"The test helps identify the healthiest embryos for use in IVF treatment and could cut the risk of twins or triplets."
The preliminary results have shown nearly 62% success rate of implanting the embryo in the womb. Which is a stark contrast from the standard 27% chances of successful and healthy birth. Although these are still in the initial stages of testing and experimenting, CGHA will give hope to thousands of childless couples.
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Sunday, November 09, 2008
Ovary Transplant
Infertility treatments have made monumental strides in recent years with the advent of
IVF,
egg donation and surrogacy. But this week an even greater step was taken to treat infertile women. A formerly sterile woman has given birth to the first ever ovary transplant baby. The British woman suffered from ovary failure at age 15 and went through early menopause, which caused her infertility. The 38-year-old woman received a full ovary transplant from her twin sister and is expected to give birth this week.
More than 100,000 women in the UK alone suffer from infertility due in part to chemotherapy, radiotherapy and early menopause leaving their chances of pregnancy dismal to say the least. This groundbreaking new surgery may give these women hope for motherhood.
The Sunday New York Times reported, "Unlike IVF, the conventional infertility treatment, an ovary transplant not only allows a woman to conceive "naturally" but also restores hormone levels in women who have suffered an early menopause." Nearly three months post-surgery women who have had this procedure done, witnessed their first ovulations in years. And soon after one year transplant women are told they may be able to conceive. For women unable to bear children, this breakthrough is revolutionary.
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Thursday, November 06, 2008
Booty Caller
The Baby Center has come up with a brilliantly hilarious scheme for fertility. Their newest advertising endeavour and magnet is called Booty Caller – the Baby Center will actually text message customers ovulation alerts and
fertility information. Their slogan is "We'll tell you when, you decide where!"
Booty Caller subscribers will get text messages notifying them when they are most likely to be fertile and provide fertility advice. There are a series of 18 text alerts and 3 per menstrual cycle. Their website gives an example text alert, "
Your fertile window opens today and lasts 5 more days. Stress can get in the way of conception so relax and get a massage, meditate, or take a yoga class."
As outlandish as it may seem, Baby Center is trying to come up with youthful strategies and advice to inform young women about fertility and infertility treatments.
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Wednesday, November 05, 2008
Fertility Hope for Girls with Cancer
Young girls destitute with cervical or ovarian cancer have found a glimmer of hope. Once told that they wouldn't be able to bear children are now being told they may have a future in motherhood.
Fertility experts say by preserving ovarian tissue for later use. The Israeli researchers found that of the girls ages 5-20 with cancer, some healthy eggs were able to be preserved and 34% of the eggs successfully matured.
Dr. David Adamson, one of the lead researchers told US News, "As our ability to treat childhood cancers improves, it becomes more important that those survivors are able to live rich, full lives, including the ability have children. This research helps moves us to the goal of allowing paediatric cancer survivors to become parents."
Next up is for researchers to test if these eggs can be fertilized properly. If so, fertility hopes among cancer ridden female youth will be heightened and much appreciated. This is monumental progress in the field of infertility treatment.
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Sunday, November 02, 2008
Folic Acid and Male Fertility
A recent
study shows that an astronomically large number of men have nutritional deficiencies with their sperm. Of the 800 men examined over 59% of them struggled low levels of Folic Acid and Vitamin D in their diets. For infertile couples a diet rich in folic acid may increase their chances of successfully conceiving.
The research also shows that of the 59% of would-be-fathers most of them had severely damaged sperm: a problem which can result in not only infertility, but also miscarriage and genetic disorders for newborns. Much of the damaged sperm was associated to smoking, alcohol and lack of folic acids and vitamins.
If you are concerned about fertility or want to investigate infertility treatments
fertilityproregistry.com can help you in your search for a professional.
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