Assisted Reproductive Technologies Science 9 Ms. Nagra

Assisted Reproductive Technologies Procedures to help couples who are infertile: cannot have a child. Causes of Infertility? –Low sperm count –Low hormonal levels in females –Disease –Treatments such as chemotherapy

Assisted Reproductive Technologies Usually Involves: 1) removing egg cells from woman’s body 2) fertilizing eggs 3) returning embryo(s) into woman’s uterus

Types of Reproductive Technologies 1)Artificial Insemination: collect sperm from male and inject it into female -used if sperm are not active enough or low sperm count -can be donated by woman’s partner or a donor (first developed for dairy cattle industry)

2) In Vitro Fertilization: egg cell placed in Petri dish, sperm is injected into dish so one sperm can fertilize the egg and the embryo(s) placed into the uterus. -used if fallopian tube is blocked -high chance of multiple births -woman needs hormone treatments -1/3 couples successful Types of Reproductive Technologies

3) Gamete Intrafallopian Transfer: Egg cell and sperm are mixed and injected into fallopian tubes. Fertilization occurs in woman’s body. -used when couples fail to conceive after at least 1 year of trying, and who have tried other methods Types of Reproductive Technologies

4) Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection: One sperm cell injected into one egg cell, then inserted into uterus. -used when man has severe fertility problems -when in vitro fertilization has failed Types of Reproductive Technologies

In Depth Genetics and reproduction Regulating 'assisted human reproduction' Last Updated July 3, 2007 CBC News Ethical debate Freezing women's eggs is not new to the world of assisted reproductive technology but until July 2007, doctors were unsure how the eggs would hold up under the process. In a new study, McGill University researcher Hananel Holzer announced the first birth of a baby from eggs matured in a laboratory, frozen, thawed and then fertilized. Holzer said the study would offer hope to women hoping to extend their fertility. But there are other potential uses for frozen eggs, some fraught with greater ethical pitfalls. In April 2007, for example, a Quebec woman froze some of her eggs so that her seven-year-old daughter, who is infertile because of a genetic disorder, could use them in the future. "We have to look very carefully into what we're doing there," Margaret Somerville, an ethicist at McGill University's Centre for Medicine, Ethics and Law, told CCBC News.

Think then Write…. 1)Should the daughter be allowed to use her mother’s egg cells? 2) What should we do with left over embryos from In Vitro Fertilization? Who owns them? 3) For children conceived by artificial insemination, most will never know the identity of their fathers, is this fair to the child?