March 2009 Blog Archive
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Egg Donation Thriving Through Recession
Egg donation is not the likeliest of industry choices to be economic downturn immune. More and more financial struggling people are opting to donate their healthy egg and sperm for extra cash. In fact, MSNBC reported on the influx by looking at craigslist.com. "News 5 found ads on Craigslist.org placed by agencies and couples looking for what they consider to be a "good egg donor." The ads offer anywhere from $8,000 to $50,000 to women who are willing to donate their eggs."
In fact egg donation is so financially viable because the entire harvesting process only takes about 3 weeks for ideal candidates. Likewise, the demand for children is virtually unscathed, even during a global financial crisis, because frankly people will always want to have children. Although most donors want to help infertile couples, the demand and necessity for money is vital right now, so it makes sense that clinics are seeing increased numbers of women donating eggs.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Fertility Gets a Cash Boost
Many countries internationally are looking to boost not only the economy of fertility but the research and medicine in fertility as well. The UK government will be spending an additional 1.5 million pounds in Northern Ireland to improve fertility services. The new funding is hoping to reduce downtime for infertile couples looking to get In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and other fertility treatments.
BBC News reported on what the Health minister said, "Mr McGimpsey said: "The extra recurrent funding I am providing will ensure that, going forward, no-one who qualifies for publicly funded treatment will have a waiting time of longer than a year, and should allow a move towards increasing the number of cycles of treatment."
Hopefully other countries will learn from the UK's new fertility funding laws and begin to implement similar tactics to increase education and boost circulation.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Price-Cuts Stimulating Sperm Donation
Our economy clearly was not the only thing in dire need of some stimulation. Couples who were seeking out sperm donation due to infertility have now received a bit of a price cut for people seeking help from sperm banks. One of the nation's oldest sperm banks is offering $200 for a vile of sperm to help couples with financial troubles.
Fox News reported, "We're all feeling the effects of the economy and, especially for families seeking reproductive options, every dollar counts," Xytex spokeswoman Danielle Moores told the Washington, D.C. bureau of Agence-France Presse. So, in these touch economic times, the company decided to offer deals on vials from their "select" donors."
Alongside these slashed prices, many men and women looking to make an extra buck or two to make ends meet during these hard times, are offering their sperm and eggs for extra cash. So sperm banks and egg donation clinics are receiving a flurry of happy donors.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
IVF Research Commends Single Embryo Implantation
Research that has come out of Finland applauding and urging fertility experts to use single embryos during In Vitro Fertilization (IVF). The research, shown by Reuters, says that single embryo insemination may be the best option for cost-effectiveness and healthy and successful results.
The Reuters article said, "At a time when there is an intense debate in many countries about how to reduce multiple pregnancy rates and provide affordable fertility treatment, policy makers should be made aware of our results," said Hannu Martikainen of the University of Oulu in Finland, who led the study. These data should also encourage clinics to evaluate their embryo transfer policy and adopt single embryo transfer as their everyday practice for women younger than 40."
One of the primary risks in IVF treatment is multiple births, this notion has come into the forefront of news globally with the infamous octuplets mother. With more than 3 million babies being world worldwide with the help of fertility treatments, this may dramatically decrease the number of multiple births.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Recession and Infertility
So we've talked about the recession taking a toll on the plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery industry, but what we have yet to discuss is recession blues and infertility woes. For many couples struggling to conceive, infertility issues are a big enough deal to hinder their relationship or even sanity. Going through infertility treatments is tedious and exhausting, but there are also some financial ramifications that need to be addressed. Clearly, child bearing is in our nature, so we will go to great lengths to successfully conceive. But during an economic downturn financing treatments like In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) and surrogacy can be quite intimidating. Which is why a book called "Budgeting for Infertility" has just been released this week.
The Editors note in the book says, "Talk about a buzz kill -- a book with fertility treatment and budgeting in the title. But as the authors note, fertility problems can drain finances almost as quickly as they drain romance. Sterling is described as a researcher and educator specializing in fertility and women's health issues. Best-Boss is a writer. In this volume, they put the economics of conception front and center. So, along with tips on preserving fertility and picking a doctor, they include advice on creating a budget and sample letters for filing insurance appeals. There are also chapters on international options and tracking down lower-cost medicines."
This book could be a wise read, so invest it in and perhaps it will teach the ways of budgeting time and money for fertility. The 411 on financing fertility.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Emotional Stresses of Infertility
Often times we disregard or forget about the emotional toll fertility issues or infertility treatments take on us or on our relationships. Tending to such ailments and problems is nothing like dealing with life's normal perils like job-hunting, buying a home and financial woes, dealing with infertility is viciously hard on some couples. Parenthood is an inherent need for many of us, so we will go to great lengths to bear children, and for those people going through it via In Vitro Fertilization or other forms of fertility treatment may have a harder time. Belgian researchers have recently done a study about how good relationships may de-stress couples during treatments.
Reuters Health report said, "While the duration of fertility problems didn't affect relationship satisfaction, the number of previous treatments did. People in self-critical, preoccupied, or dismissive relationship roles were less satisfied with their relationship, while securely attached people were more satisfied."
Regardless of the stability and security of a relationship, going through fertility troubles and treatments may cause emotional damage and hardship upon couples. It is important we start becoming aware of such issues and tending to them accordingly.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Fertility Clinic Boom
Generally, the vast majority of businesses are struggling to make ends meet and make a profit during the harsh economic climate. From medicine to media, most industry's are feeling the recession blues. However, one industry seems to have retained if not increased it's clientele in the midst of the financial pitful, and that is fertility. Fertility clinics nationwide have seen an influx of egg donors in recent months, thus resulting in increased numbers of infertile couples seeking out treatment.
Compensation can reach as high if not more than $20,000, MSNBC said, "An increasing number of women are donating their eggs. Some do it to help families conceive a child, but the financial reward for selling their eggs is also appealing. News 5 found ads on Craigslist.org placed by agencies and couples looking for what they consider to be a "good egg donor." The ads offer anywhere from $8,000 to $50,000 to women who are willing to donate their eggs."
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Reviving Female Fertility
Newfound fertility hope has emerged in the market. Researchers have found a possible hormone to aid in remedying infertility in women. The scientists have found evidence that the hormone called kisspeptin may be able to activate the release of sex hormones that control the menstrual cycle. The women studied were not menstruating properly and thus infertile.
US News and World Report discussed the recent findings, "The researchers injected the participants with either kisspeptin or saline and then measured levels of two sex hormones -- luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) -- essential for ovulation and fertility women who received kisspeptin had a 48-fold increase in LH and a 16-fold increase in FSH, compared to those who received the saline. The study is the first to show that kisspeptin can stimulate production of sex hormones in infertile women, according to the study's authors."
This is exciting news for women struggling with infertility, not only is it looking like they will have answers there may also be treatments available to allow them to have a natural birth. Restoring reproduction and fertility via hormone treatment is not only an efficient form of treatment, but also far less costly than invasive procedures like IVF.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Obesity and Fertility the Saga Continues
The BBC has reported on a study linking obesity and fertility issues. The study says that women who inherit the fertility gene are likely to also inherit infertility genes. Initial research had said the link was present between genes that cause weight gain and adverse fertility affects, however the specific reasoning was still unknown till now.
BBC News said, "Now experts from Oxford and Imperial College London believe the same gene may cause polycystic ovary syndrome. The results were presented at an annual endocrinology meeting in Harrogate. Dr Barber said: "PCOS is an incredibly common condition affecting one in 10 women of reproductive age and is a leading cause of infertility.
"It is a genetic condition and one that is strongly associated with obesity; it is therefore of huge relevance for women given today's obesity epidemic."
With better education and increased knowledge about infertility issues, fertility experts may now be able to diagnose and treat infertile couples more properly and easily.
Monday, March 16, 2009
Meditation a Key to Fertility Success
For women and couples undergoing infertility treatments like In-Vitro-Fertilization and egg donation, stress is an understatement. The fear, stress and intense emotion involved sends the sanest of couples into emotional and mental distress. The idea of infertility also turns many women into complete basket cases. So for all those couples struggling with infertility, you need not stress as much, just begin to meditate.
Greenwich Time said, "Infertility treatment, she explains, thrusts an otherwise healthy woman into a full-on medical assault. Invasive tests, procedures, shots of hormones and years of disappointment can become the norm. "You are talking about women who are constantly going to the doctor's and are consumed with prolonged feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, depression, anger, envy and resentment," she says. "Even the most well-adjusted woman develops the attitude that, 'There's something wrong with me.' It comes down to: 'I have this defect and deficit because I don't have a baby.' "
Not only will fertility aid in your mental health and help further your fertility progress, yoga also is known as a mentally soothing exercise which is known to be beneficial to increased fertility rates.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Control over Embryos
Often times couples who get In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) have spare embryos. During the Bush era, extra embryos were destroyed as opposed to utilized for research and study. Now when a woman is inseminated with embryos, but as extra's she has an opportunity to let them be used for fertility research or donated to an infertile couple without any healthy embryos for use.
Reuters article about fertility said, "While medical researchers hailed Obama's move as a step toward treating or curing a variety of diseases, fertility patients said they were simply glad that they will no longer be limited in their choice of what to do with unused embryos...But she argues that the patients themselves have to have final say about whether to donate their embryos to another family, to research, or to discard them."
Over 500,000 embryos are frozen each year, so it makes sense that the embryo owners have say in what happens to them. Many of which can be put to great use to learn about diseases and fertility research.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Criticisms Stop Designer Baby Clinic
The Los Angeles, California based fertility clinic that promised infertile couples they can provide them with designer babies has decided to halt the new trend after serious criticisms. The Fertility Institute in Los Angeles, which also has clinics in Mexico and New York had said they received pleas and requests from couples to help them choose the aesthetics of their unborn child.
The clinic issued a statement today saying, "Though well-intended, we remain sensitive to public perception and feel that any benefit the diagnostic studies may offer are far outweighed by the apparent negative societal impacts involved. For those patients with albinism or other ocular pigmentation disorders, we continue to offer preimplantation genetic diagnosis in general, but will not be investigating the pigmentation of anybody structures."
The superficial nature of this project frightened many people nationwide, and the story made news globally. Designer babies may be the way of the future, but it seems like the post-octomom nation is not ready for this step just yet.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
All Eyes on IVF
After the flurry of criticisms against Nadia Suleman ('Octomom') the fertility industry has been under the watchful eye of media, government and physicians. The newest ubiquitous hype to invade the fertility industry is embryo adoption. Although this is a fairly new concept in the fertility industry, many infertile couples are filled with newfound hope. Many couples are concerned about 'wasting' embryos during IVF which is why some say Nadya Suleman asked her fertility physician to implant her with the additional 6 'unncessary' embryos.
According to the Denver Examiner, "Embryo adoption is the process by which parents who have created embryos, usually in preparation for IVF (in-vitro fertilization), then go on to allow other couples to 'adopt' the embryos instead of using the embryos themselves. Yet, the process is an appealing option to some couples who feel the cost, timeline, and risk are all well worth the potential outcome of a successful pregnancy."
There are also bound to be more stringent fertility laws in the coming months, as the industry is highly scrutinized by the acts of the 'Octomom' so we are likely to see many regulations against embryo adoption as well.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Obesity and Infertility
It has long been considered by physicians and researchers that there is in fact a clear link between infertility and obesity. According to new studies, the link between the two is quite evident. Obese women appear to go under significant changes in their ovaries which result in their eggs inability to properly be fertilized.
The Endocrine Society said, "In the study, Dr. Robker and her colleagues measured hormone and metabolite levels in follicular fluid obtained from the subjects' ovaries during their egg collection procedures. They found that obese women exhibited an altered ovarian follicular environment, particularly increased metabolite and androgen activity levels, which may be associated with poorer reproductive outcomes. The researchers say that the fats might alter the very sensitive metabolism of the egg and such changes are known to be harmful to embryo formation. In addition, inflammation can damage cells and when this happens to eggs it can affect embryo survival."
Typically obese women were seen as struggling or taking longer to conceive, but this new research shows that the links are evident and may actually be a viable cause for the adverse fertility affects due to obesity.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
IVF Single Birth Success
For many infertile couples In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) is a necessity, the numbers of couples struggling with natural conception have increased over the years, but likewise with that increase so too have multiple births as a result of IVF. In many regards IVF is a blessing, but in recent weeks it has come under strict scrutiny due to negligence and lax fertility regulations by the government onto fertility clinics. In wake of these recent criticisms, doctors have said that single births are becoming more successful for young women.
The USA Today reported on this newfound IVF information, "But thanks to advancements in culturing embryos in the lab, doctors can offer many younger patients an excellent chance of conceiving with only a single embryo. In the journal Fertility and Sterility last November, Stillman reported that eSET patients had basically the same pregnancy rate - 65% - as those who transferred two embryos, but only 1% of eSET patients had twins, compared to 44% of the women who'd received two embryos."
However it is also important to note that for women in their 40s seeking out fertility treatments, doctors typically implant more than one embryo, because the success rates are much higher with increased embryo. Also couples must remember it is still a shared risk to take on a treatment like IVF, the chance of multiple births still remains.
Wednesday, March 04, 2009
‘Ocotomom' has Spurred Stiff Regulations
If any good has come from 'Octomom' Nadya Suleman that is her 14 IVF babies have instigated the deployment of stringent fertility laws. California's fertility clinics will now be under watch after Suleman gave birth to octuplets after In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment, where 6 embryos were inseminated into the so-called 'unfit' unemployed mother of 14.
The Los Angeles Times reported on people's reactions to these soon to be implemented laws, "It is alarming that the State of California has no one watching out for patients," said McLeod, a Democrat from Chino.The bill, which also introduces regulations for plastic surgery centers, was originally inspired by the November 2007 death of Donda West, Kanye West's mother, who died of heart disease following liposuction and breast reduction surgery."
Many say, it's about time the US has stiffer regulations. Fertility clinics have been scrutinized for having no watchdogs, leaving the clinics and patients will full discretion.
Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Designer Baby Boom
From the Drudge Report to BBC News, the talk of Tinseltown today is designer babies. A Los Angeles based fertility clinic is assuring patients seeking out In Vitro Fertilization and other infertility treatments that they can pick and choose gender and aesthetic traits of their babies. The clinic is claiming that they are offering this service due in part to recent demands by patrons, though this has kicked up a stir amongst industry experts and even locals.
Fox News reported on the information behind this newfound designer treatment, "While PGD has long been used for the medical purpose of averting life-threatening diseases in children, the science behind it has quietly progressed to the point that it could potentially be used to create designer babies. It isn't clear that Fertility Institutes can yet deliver on its claims of trait selection. But the growth of PGD, unfettered by any state or federal regulations in the U.S., has accelerated genetic knowledge swiftly enough that pre-selecting cosmetic traits in a baby is no longer the stuff of science fiction."
If this fertility clinic really can deliver its promises of beautiful babies, will this start a flurry of fertile couples going in for insemination just to choose the look of their child? Is fertility being exploited? I leave that up to you, but for now for infertile couples around LA one clinic is offering you 'Versace Babies.'
Monday, March 02, 2009
Financial Troubles mean Surplus of Eggs
In lieu of the global financial crisis, women across the United States are offering to sell their eggs for extra money to pay bills. Draw by such payments over $10,000, clinics are seeing a frenzy of women young and old coming in.
Reuters reported on the increase in women donating eggs, "Nicole Hodges, a 23-year-old actress in New York City who has been out of work since November, says she has decided to sell her eggs because she desperately needs cash."I'm still paying off college. I have credit card bills and, you know, rent in New York is so expensive," Hodges, who has been accepted as donor and is waiting to be chosen by a couple, told Reuters Television."
The economic climate is encouraging such donations, but many women also say they are happy to donate eggs not just for the money but also to help infertile couples seeking out artificial insemination and other infertility treatments. The ideal candidate that fertility experts look for are healthy, active women in their twenties.
