Assisted Reproductive Technology

by Jerri Rowe, MS

Background

The basics of ART are given in beginning background section. Once familiar with the material the teacher can assess how much general knowledge the students have in ways to make a baby. A brainstorming activity will be a good exercise to assess level of familiarity.

The information below was obtained from http://www.drmalpani.com/makeababy.htm
A TV program produced in the USA in 2002 described 18 ways to make a baby.

These included:
Natural sex
Artificial insemination -- of mother with father's sperm
Artificial insemination -- of mother with donor sperm
Artificial insemination -- with egg and sperm donors, using surrogate mother
In vitro fertilization (IVF) -- using egg and sperm of parents
IVF -- with Intra-Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection (ICSI)
IVF -- with frozen embryos
IVF -- with Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)
IVF -- with egg donor
IVF -- with sperm donor
IVF -- with egg and sperm donor
IVF -- with surrogate using parents' egg and sperm
IVF -- with surrogate and egg donor
IVF -- with surrogate and sperm donor
IVF -- with surrogate using her egg, sperm from baby's father
IVF -- with surrogate using egg and sperm donors*
Cytoplasmic transfer
Nuclear transfer and cloning

If you now add additional options such as TESA ( testicular sperm aspiration) and PESA ( percutaneous epididymal sperm aspiration);assisted hatching and embryo fragment removal, the list becomes even longer !

Case studies and activities will bring a sense of reality to the ethical issues involved and aid students in formulating their own ethical position. Relevant ethical issues include:

• Implications of infertility on women, men, families, orphans

• Possible complications and their role in ethical decision-making;

• Medical - miscarriages, increased risk of ovarian cancer
• Clinical - error in embryo placement (wrong parent/s)
• Societal - unregulated centers, embryo theft, sale of embryos

• Children born of deceased parents

• Childbearing in old age

• Surrogacy (altruism or profit)