Monday, August 30, 2004
Concerns over artificial birth technologies
The latest figures from Denmark show that 5% of births, or one child in 20, are the result of in vitro fertilisation. (British Medical Journal, 15 July).
Meanwhile, an Australian study has found that children conceived by IVF are nine times as likely to have a rare genetic disorder, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, as naturally-conceived children. (New Scientist, 11 August). In an article published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne say that the natural incidence of BWS is 1 in 36,000 births, but for IVF children it is 1 in 4,000. The Australian study confirms other research published last year.
Although the condition is quite uncommon, doctors are asking what feature of IVF causes the defects. One possibility is that IVF itself is to blame. Another is that growing embryos in a culture medium can lead to imprinting errors. This is worrying as IVF clinics are trying to reduce the number of multiple pregnancies by implanting only a single embryo which has grown in a culture medium for a few days. Yet another reason is growing evidence that the eggs and sperm of people with infertility problems are more likely to have genetic disorders.
The latest figures from Denmark show that 5% of births, or one child in 20, are the result of in vitro fertilisation. (British Medical Journal, 15 July).
Meanwhile, an Australian study has found that children conceived by IVF are nine times as likely to have a rare genetic disorder, Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, as naturally-conceived children. (New Scientist, 11 August). In an article published in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers from the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne say that the natural incidence of BWS is 1 in 36,000 births, but for IVF children it is 1 in 4,000. The Australian study confirms other research published last year.
Although the condition is quite uncommon, doctors are asking what feature of IVF causes the defects. One possibility is that IVF itself is to blame. Another is that growing embryos in a culture medium can lead to imprinting errors. This is worrying as IVF clinics are trying to reduce the number of multiple pregnancies by implanting only a single embryo which has grown in a culture medium for a few days. Yet another reason is growing evidence that the eggs and sperm of people with infertility problems are more likely to have genetic disorders.
