Researchers from the University of Adeliade working on test tube babies claim that,
“The usual age–birth defect relationship is reversed in births after IVF and ICSI, and the associations or other maternal factors and defects vary between IVF and ICSI.”
Simply put, birth defects after a woman crossed 40 years age decreases after IVF or ICSI or Infertility treatment as compared to birth defects from natural births.
This is good news for all childless couples who are eagerly waiting for their bundle of joy. To make things better, each day, there are innumerable efforts being made to make fertility treatments safer, more successful and economical for all strata of society.
Advancing Science Of Test Tube Babies
New research into the science of IVF and ICSI is bringing in new advancements and success in test tube babies. Way back in 2012, the telegraph reported that there are around five million such babies around us today; and IVF has become a household name.
”The five million milestone not only justifies all the legal and moral battles, the ethical debates and hard-fought social approval, it is also a testament to the great scientists and doctors who have worked so hard to improve the treatment.”
– The Telegraph,, 1 July, 2012.
Going forward, we can assure you that there will be more surprises on the way. Like,
- The Three Parent Method: A controversial technique, its proponents quote how this method can prevent life threatening diseases in women from passing on to their children. While this method has attracted a lot of criticism, we look forward to the scientific society to build a carefully measured and publicly accountable process.
- Drug Free Fertility Treatments: A treatment called in vitro maturation (IVM) is now being explored that attempts to restore the natural processes during egg maturation. And this is being attempted with little or no medication, using potent growth factors produced by the egg.
- Designer Babies: Developmental biologist Fredrik Lanner and his team are working on editing genes in human embryos. This revolutionary method can lead to designer babies who are void of any genetic diseases. And maybe even allow parents to select the color of their hair and eyes.
What concerns most of us is how ethical are these new developments. However, given the fact that test tube babies too at one point in time were a taboo, we sure hope the new developments are for the betterment of humanity.
