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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