Download In Vetro Fertilization: The issues surrounding IVF

Running head: IVF
1
In Vetro Fertilization: The issues surrounding IVF
Whitney Bowden
English 1010
April 28th 2011
IVF
2
In Vetro Fertilization: The issues surrounding IVF
Many people grow up thinking that one day they will get married and have children.
Some of these people will be married and come to the realization that having children is not
as easy as they once thought it would be. There is a 25% chance of pregnancy when the
sperm and egg meet at the correct time. Women ovulate, release an egg between day 11
and day 21 their menstruation cycle. The egg only lives 12-24 hours after it’s been released
from the ovary. After taking all of this into consideration there is the chance of the women
or man being infertile. There are fertility medications, injections, in vitro fertilization and
many more options.
In Vitro fertilization or IVF is the process that takes egg cells from women and
fertilizes them with sperm from a man outside of the body. This sperm could be taken
either from a known male or from a sperm donor. During this process the ova or eggs are
removed from the women’s ovaries and kept in a fluid while the sperm fertilizes them. The
fertilized egg is then transferred into the women’s uterus with the intent of a successful
pregnancy. IVF is one of the major infertility treatments when other options have failed.
The fertilized egg may also be known as a “test tube baby” (In vitro fertilization, 2011).
Doctor Robert G. Edwards is a British physiologist in Reproductive medicine, which
discovered IVF. In 1960 Edwards started to study human fertilization. He was able to
achieve fertilization of a human egg in the laboratory. During that time he started to work
along side surgeon Patrick Steptoe. Edwards developed a human culture fluid to allow the
fertilization to take place, while Steptoe used laparoscopy to get egg cells from patients
with tubal infertility. Along with Patrick Steptoe, Edwards successfully gained conception
IVF
3
the first test tube baby, Louise Brown in 1978 in the UK. He was awarded the 2010 Nobel
Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the development of in vitro fertilization” (Russell
2009).
There are many factors to consider prior to under going IVF. IVF is not a procedure
that should be rushed into or should be used as the first attempt to getting pregnant. There
are other options out there that should be tried first. If all others fail then IVF could be
taken into consideration. IVF is a costly procedure, costing around $12,000, and it is not
guaranteed to work. IVF could be a very stressful task to take on. It can also result in
multiple births which could be financially, emotionally and physically draining on both
partners. The chance of multiple births is at a rate of 32% for twins, and 5% for triplets or
more (In vitro, 2011).
During the process of taking out the females eggs for the IVF process, the doctor will
take more then what it is needed. They will take these eggs and either freeze them, or go
further with the process and pair them up with the sperm then freezing them. At this point
they are no longer eggs and sperm, they are embryos. Embryos are the first stage of
development in human life. It is called an embryo until around eight weeks after it has been
fertilized. IVF clinics take these embryos and freeze them for later implantation if the
female wishes to become pregnant again. They also keep these embryos so the first born
child would have the same DNA as the others if the female decides to have another child.
Holding these eggs or embryos can cost around $700 for one year of freezing.
There has always been controversy around IVF. When the first IVF baby was born
some of these issues were forgotten. But as each year goes on and more technology around
IVF develops there are more ethical questions that are being raised. Many people think its
IVF
4
wrong that these doctors are playing god and that babies born as a result from IVF will be
born with out a soul (IVF, 2011). They also think it is unethical to freeze the embryos
considering they are now living beings. Although, having the option to have this procedure
done as an infertile couple who wants to have children would bring some kind of relief to
the fact that they now may be able to have children.
One reason some may have a problem with IVF is single women wanting to have
children and trying to do so with IVF. Women who are not sexual active and do not know if
they are infertile have tried to undergo IVF. Many people think this is not a situation that
calls for IVF due to the fact that there are already so many single parent families living in
the US today. This now becomes a hot debating topic of single parent families. IVF should
not be used for single women who are trying to get pregnant. This procedure was not
developed for women who do not have fertility problems. This is a very complex procedure
and should be used as a last resort by those who have fertility problems. Women who just
want to get pregnant should find sperm donors and go that route to see if it’ll work. At that
point IVF could be a solution if it was found out that the women was infertile.
Insurance companies are getting more medical claims as the years go on. Another
reason why IVF is on debate is that they want to have insurance companies pay for the
procedure. There are many insurance companies out there, and as of right now, some of
them do pay for parts of the IVF procedure. Each plan is different so the patient is
responsible to find out if there plan covers infertility. Many companies will cover infertility
medications, but not IVF. Every person who holds an insurance plan pays monthly to keep
this insurance pay current. Insurance companies should be paying for IVF. Infertility is a
medical condition, same as diabetes. Insurance companies pay for the care and treatment
IVF
5
surrounding patients with diabetes. They should cover the care and treatment of those who
are infertile.
The biggest issue concerning IVF is the freezing of an embryo. These embryos are
considered living beings and many do not think it is right to be able to freeze these humans
until the parents are ready to implant them. Freezing an embryo and later planting it into a
uterus can result in a lower pregnancy rate of a live birth compared to a fresh embryo
implantation. There is also a concern that the length of time that the embryo was kept
frozen can have an effect or increase the chance of the born child to have increased birth
defects, although this has not yet been proven. People should be able to have children if the
desire to. Technology changes and advances everyday. Couples who have infertility
problems should be able to freeze their embryos for as long as they need to in order to have
children. These embryos can not feel yet, there for it is ok for IVF clinics to freeze them.
IVF will always been on debate, especially as technology becomes more advanced.
There will always be people who think it is unethical, and that these doctors are playing
god. IVF has many success stories, and will continue to be a procedure that will be an
option for couples with infertility problems. No matter the circumstance people with
infertility problems should be given the choice to choose IVF. In the end the only person
who can decide if IVF is a good option is the person with infertility problems.
IVF
6
References
Centers for IVF. (2009, May). Retrieved April 17, 2011, from the Web site:
http://www.ivf.org/
Embryo Freezing. (2011, April 17. Retrieved April 17, 2011, from the Web site:
http://www.fertilityexpert.co.uk/EmbryoFreezing.html
In vitro fertilization. (2011, April 13). Retrieved April 13, 2011, from the Web site:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_vitro_fertilisation
In vitro fertilization. (2011, April 16). Retrieved April 16, 2011, from E Medicine Health
Web site: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/in_vitro_fertilization/article_em.htm
Infertility. (2007, May). Retrieved April 16, 2011, from the Web site:
http://www.americanpregnancy.org/infertility/ivf.html
IVF Connections. (2011, April 17). Retrieved April 17, 2011, from the Web site:
http://www.ivfconnections.com/
IVF Ethics. (2011, April 16). Retrieved April 16, 2011, from the IVF net Web site:
http://www.ivf.net/ivf/ivf-ethics-o2120.html
IVF. (2011, April 17). Retrieved April 17, 2011, from the Web site:
http://www.sharedjourney.com/ivf.html
IVF-ET. (2011, April 16). Retrieved April 16, 2011, from the Web site:
http://www.ivf.com/ivffaq.html
Russell, M. (February 9th, 2006). Women Issues. Retrieved April 13, 2011, from the An
introduction to in vetro fertilization. Web site: http://ezinearticles.com/?AnIntroduction-To-In-Vitro-Fertilization&id=142182