1. IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)
Maria Valles, Ricardo Chibás, Daniela Torres

2. Outline the process of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
Assessment Statement

3. What is IVF? Fertilization “in glass”
Process of creating an embryo by artificially putting eggs and sperm together
Alternative method of creating an embryo/ biological baby
Referred to as “test tube babies”

4. History
Louise Brown was the first IVF baby in the world. She was born in July of 1978 in England
Louise was 28 (in 2006) when she had her own baby (without IVF)
Hundreds of thousands of children are now born every year as a result of IVF

5. Overview
Stimulating multiple follicles to be able to retrieve the eggs
Fertilizing the eggs in the laboratory
Embryo transfer to the uterus

6. 1st step The cycle includes 19 shots, seven patches, and 126 pills
$5,000 (for drugs needed in 1 cycle)
2 weeks of estrogen pills to stop menstrual cycle
Doctor can “reset” the clock and monitor process
Injecting: Follistim and Menopur
hormone extracted from the urine of postmenopausal women
Goal → increase the number of eggs the body releases per month & strengthen them

7. Tracking the process
Woman’s eggs are too small to be seen on an ultrasound
Halfway through the cycle doctor counts follicles in woman’s ovaries
Fluid-filled sacks the eggs grow inside
Track how well fertility medications are working
If not enough, process will have to start all over
Blood is drawn daily to track hormone levels

8. 2nd step
Woman:
When eggs have grown and matured → removed from uterus
Process includes: pain medication, a doctor, nurses, a catheter, an ultrasound, a microscope, and an embryologist.
Man:
Sperm retrieval

9. 3rd step ICSI (Intra Cytoplasmic Sperm Injection)
Minutes after extraction, embryologists implants one healthy sperm into each freshly removed egg
Several days later, embryologist looks at Petri dishes under a microscope to see whether any of the eggs has transformed into a blastocyst
the cluster of five cells that will eventually divide

10. 4th step Implementation
A catheter is used to snake the blastocyst inside the uterus
Place embryo in the exact spot
“Babies on ice”
Remaining fertilized eggs are frozen

11. 5th step
If successful = pregnancy

13. Discuss the ethical issues associated with IVF.
Assessment Statement

14. Ethics behind IVF

15. Issue #1 The possible damage done to the Pre-embryo
Embryo's that are not transferred to the women's uterus, will be either destroyed or used for research purposes
The embryo could be considered living

16. Issue #2
The possible damage done to the infertile couple or the expected offspring by the physician.
The percentage of success when performing IVF, depends on the number of embryos transferred to the uterus. Therefore, the more transfers that are done, the greater the chance that the woman has of becoming pregnant.
This creates many risks for both the mother and the embryo. To begin with, mental and physical threats are presented to the mother (these include: high blood pressure or uterine bleeding). Also, medical costs run high with issues such as these.  

17. Issue #3
The possible damage done to the offspring by the couple using IVF
Multiple pregnancies can also affect the baby negatively

18. Questions Define a blastocyst.
How is it determined if the woman is able to carry the fertilized egg and become pregnant?
State two advantages and disadvantages of using IVF.