Infertility
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If 100 just married couples begin having sexual
relations (with no previous use of
contraceptives) then within one year, 80 % of
the women would be pregnant.
Of the remainder, 10 % would be classified as
subfertile
But 10 % would be infertile.
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Problems in the male account for 25% of cases
of infertility
In the female 40 %
And combined male/female problems in the
remaining 35%.
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Infertility is a growing problem. Some
probable causes include;
Delayed marriages and later childbearing
 Sexually transmitted diseases
 Pollution
 Diet
 Lack of exercise
 Previous contraceptive use leading to sterility
 Sterility from previous abortion
 Falling sperm count in males (medicines, alcohol
etc)

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I.V.F.
In
Vitro
Fertilization
“Test tube babies”
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Louise Brown, 1978
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Today there are more than 3 million IVF babies
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Success rate of IVF?
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Success rates vary and are often exaggerated
To attract more clients
Probably around 20-25 % successful
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How much does it cost?
Average cost of total treatment
$10,000 - $25, 000 (American dollars)
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Industry generates $ 2 billion per year.
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THE TECHNIQUE OF IVF
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There are generally four major steps in the
process of IVF:
Collect eggs from the woman
Obtain sperm from the man
In the laboratory place eggs and sperm together
to allow for fertilization, to create embryos.
(ICSI-Intra-cytoplasmic sperm injection since
1990’s.)
Transfer embryos into uterus of woman
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THE TECHNIQUE OF IVF
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2
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THE MORAL ISSUES
The spread of technologies of intervention
in the processes of human procreation raises
very serious moral problems
(Donum Vitae, Part III).
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1. Collect eggs from the woman
The woman is given drugs to hyper-ovulate
(produce many eggs). The drugs can cause side
effects such as abdominal pain, nausea etc.
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2. Obtain sperm from the man
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Obtaining sperm by masturbation may be
morally objectionable
Sometimes donor sperm may be used
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3. In the laboratory place eggs and sperm together to
allow for fertilization, to create embryos
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Embryos are created in the laboratory (the test
tube) thus human fertilization occurs apart from
sexual intercourse and outside the human body.
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The destruction of embryos
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Many embryos created. Healthy ones kept but
defective embryos are destroyed.
Healthy embryos can be transferred to woman
or they can be frozen for use at later date.
Sometimes they are experimented on.
“
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The problem of frozen embryos
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In USA there are >400,000 frozen embryonic
persons, a kind of “hell of ice”.
In thawing them 50 % will die.
Worldwide there are up to 1 million frozen
embryos
What to do with the
frozen embryos?
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4. Transfer embryos into uterus of woman
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Many embryos implanted in mother’s womb
(usually 2-4) to increase chance of pregnancy.
Should too large a number of embryos start to
grow, the ‘excess’ embryos are usually aborted
(called “pregnancy reduction”).
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