We tend to give utilitarianism a hard time in “Pointed Remarks”. But sometimes we could do with a bit more utilitarianism. It might keep the media – and many doctors, too – from being so dewy-eyed about apparent successes. Take IVF, which celebrated, so to speak, its 40th anniversary this week, with the birthday of Louise Brown.
In some respects, IVF has been quite a success. An estimated 8 million IVF children have been born since then. A thriving industry has grown up, worth some US$15 billion, making lots of doctors, scientists, technicians and administrators very wealthy. That is the happiness side of the ledger.
But how about the women who endured cycle after cycle of IVF without conceiving? Their lives have been filled with suffering as a result. And there are far more of them than women who eventually conceived. How about the destruction of millions upon millions of human embryos? And how about the disturbing future of IVF – designer babies and genetically-engineered children? That is the pain side of the ledger. It hasn’t been quantified, of course, but it must be acknowledged. I would venture to say that the balance is negative.
Whether I’m right or wrong about that, I do think that we need a clearer vision of the negative side of assisted reproductive technology.
In some respects, IVF has been quite a success. An estimated 8 million IVF children have been born since then. A thriving industry has grown up, worth some US$15 billion, making lots of doctors, scientists, technicians and administrators very wealthy. That is the happiness side of the ledger.
But how about the women who endured cycle after cycle of IVF without conceiving? Their lives have been filled with suffering as a result. And there are far more of them than women who eventually conceived. How about the destruction of millions upon millions of human embryos? And how about the disturbing future of IVF – designer babies and genetically-engineered children? That is the pain side of the ledger. It hasn’t been quantified, of course, but it must be acknowledged. I would venture to say that the balance is negative.
Whether I’m right or wrong about that, I do think that we need a clearer vision of the negative side of assisted reproductive technology.
 Michael Cook Editor BioEdge |  |  |  |
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Predatory journals masquerade as legitimate, mainstream journalsOnly 7% of social egg freezers return for fertility treatment at Belgian clinic
by Michael Cook | 27 Jul 2018 |
Despite dramatic uptake in the numbers of women electing to freeze their eggs as insurance against an anticipated age-related fertility decline, few may be taking advantage of it. At one of Europe's biggest fertility centres, the Brussels Centre for Reproductive Medicine in Belgium, only 7.6% of women have returned to thaw their eggs and try for a pregnancy. And only one-third of those have been successful.
The information was released at the recent ESHRE meetingin Barcelona. The mean age of those freezing their eggs was 36.5 years and the ongoing pregnancy after an embryo transfer was 32.6%.
While social egg freezing in Brussels reflects an upward trend in popularity apparent in many other large European and US fertility centres, a spokesman for the Brussels Centre urged women considering uptake after the age of 35 "not to have unrealistic expectations." "Our results show that one in three women who return to the clinic do achieve an ongoing pregnancy with their vitrified oocytes," said Michel De Vos. "They returned at a mean age of 42 years after having their oocytes vitrified at a mean age of 36 years." But he warned that -- as with any fertility treatment -- egg quality declines markedly with age, and success rates will be lower than 33% in women freezing their eggs beyond this age.
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