Principles Of Oocyte And Embryo Donation

The versatility of oocyte and embryo donation has proven to be extremely valuable to both patients and doctors engaged in reproductive medicine. Originally thought to be applicable only to a rather small subset of infertile women, today busy practices commonly recommend the procedure and it is estimated that nearly all of the 400 or more IVF programs in the United States provide these services. Oocyte and embryo donation has established itself as a mainstay procedure within assisted reproductive care, and the breadth, depth and complexity of practice is deserving of focused attention. Much has changed within the field of oocyte and embryo donation since the publication of the first edition of Principles of Oocyte and Embryo Donation in 1998, thus the need for a completely updated and more expansive text. The second edition of this book provides an overview of the major issues affecting men and women engaged in the practice of oocyte and embryo donation. A primary emphasis has been placed on defining the standards of practice that have evolved over the past 30 years, clearly stating the outcomes expected from adhering to these established protocols. Details of both the basic science and the clinical medicine are presented together and attention is also focused on the non-reproductive aspects inherent to this unique method of assisted reproduction that involves opinions from lawyers, ethicists, mental health care professionals and theologians. Oocyte and embryo donation requires a working knowledge of the medicine, the law and the ethics that underlies its foundation. This book is intended to serve as a complete and comprehensive reference for all health care professionals that provide services related to egg donation, reproductive endocrinologists, obstetrician- gynecologists, and fellows and residents entering the fertility field.

Welcomed as liberation and dismissed as exploitation, egg freezing (oocyte cryopreservation) has rapidly become one of the most widely-discussed and influential new reproductive technologies of this century. In Freezing Fertility, Lucy van de Wiel takes us inside the world of fertility preservation—with its egg freezing parties, contested age limits, proactive anticipations and equity investments—and shows how the popularization of egg freezing has profound consequences for the way in which female fertility and reproductive aging are understood, commercialized and politicized. Beyond an individual reproductive choice for people who may want to have children later in life, Freezing Fertility explores how the rise of egg freezing also reveals broader cultural, political and economic negotiations about reproductive politics, gender inequities, age normativities and the financialization of healthcare. Van de Wiel investigates these issues by analyzing a wide range of sources—varying from sparkly online platforms to heart-breaking court cases and intimate autobiographical accounts—that are emblematic of each stage of the egg freezing procedure. By following the egg’s journey, Freezing Fertility examines how contemporary egg freezing practices both reflect broader social, regulatory and economic power asymmetries and repoliticize fertility and aging in ways that affect the public at large. In doing so, the book explores how the possibility of egg freezing shifts our relation to the beginning and end of life.

It is widely understood that stem cell treatments have the potential to revolutionize medicine. Because of this potential, in 2004 California voters approved Proposition 71 to set up a 10-year, $3 billion program to fund research on stem cells. Under the direction of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, this program will pay to build facilities for stem cell research and will fund doctors and scientists to carry out research with the ultimate goal of helping to develop therapies based on stem cells. For this research to move forward, however, will require a steady supply of stem cells, particularly human embryonic stem cells. Those stem cells are collected from developing human embryos created from eggs-or oocytes-harvested from the ovaries of female donors. Thus much of the promise of stem cells depends on women choosing to donate oocytes to the research effort. The oocyte donation process is not without risk, however. Donors are given doses of hormones to trigger the production of more eggs than would normally be produced, and this hormone treatment can have various side effects. Once the eggs have matured in the ovary, they must be retrieved via a surgical procedure that is typically performed under anesthesia, and both the surgery and the anesthesia carry their own risks. Furthermore, given the very personal nature of egg donation, the experience may carry psychological risks for some women as well. With this in mind, in 2006 the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine contracted with the National Academies to organize a workshop that would bring together experts from various areas to speak about the potential risks of oocyte donation and to summarize what is known and what needs to be known about this topic. The Committee on Assessing the Medical Risks of Human Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research was formed to plan the workshop, which was held in San Francisco on September 28, 2006. This report is a summary and synthesis of that workshop.

In Surrogacy and Embryo, Sperm, & Egg Donation: What Were You Thinking?, an attorney who practices exclusively in reproductive law shares her expert guidance for those ready to create a family via third-party reproduction. Theresa Erickson, managing partner of Erickson Law, APLC, and the Founder and Chair of Conceptual Options, The Surrogacy and Egg Donation Center, educates and guides parents, surrogates, egg donors, sperm donors, and embryo donors through fertility, infertility, IVF, and third-party reproduction. Erickson includes a glossary of terms, a list of recommended reading for both parents and their children, and legal forms while covering a multitude of relatable topics such as the: Top ten myths of third-party family building History of reproduction technologies Ways to begin the process Ethical and legal issues Questions to ask when building a family the nontraditional way Methods to select a physician and attorney Four fertility options Infertility is a global tragedy that no one should have to endure alone. This guidebook provides valuable information for anyone ready to embark on the journey of becoming parents through third-party reproduction.

In this book, leading scholars investigate the difficult ethical, legal, and policy issues that surround egg donation and the new reproductive technologies as a whole. Of special interest are feminist inquiries into perceptions of women involved in egg donation; the effects of race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status on the uses of such technologies; and moral and theological questions about whether third-party gamete donation should be used at all. In addition, the book describes procedures at four egg-donation centers in the United States, including private for-profit and university-based non-profit programs, and presents a new set of guidelines from the National Advisory Board on Ethics in Reproduction (NABER), a panel in the private sector with members from the fields of ethics, theology, law, medicine, genetics, and public policy.

The specialty of fertility preservation offers patients with cancer, who are rendered infertile by chemo- and radiotherapy, the opportunity to realize their reproductive potential. This gold-standard publication defines the specialty. The full range of techniques and scientific concepts is covered in detail, and the author team includes many of the world's leading experts in the field. The book opens with introductions to fertility preservation in both cancer and non-cancer patients, followed by cancer biology, epidemiology and treatment, and reproductive biology and cryobiology. Subsequent sections cover fertility preservation strategies in males and females, including medical/surgical procedures, ART, cryopreservation and transplantation of both ovarian tissue and the whole ovary, and in-vitro follicle growth and maturation. Concluding chapters address future technologies, as well as ethical, legal and religious issues. Richly illustrated throughout, this is a key resource for all clinicians specializing in reproductive medicine, gynecology, oncology, hematology, endocrinology and infertility.

Infertility is a major public health concern and medical condition that afflicts millions globally. As such, many people seek reproductive care with the goal of receiving a proper diagnosis and a successful outcome using assisted reproductive technology (ART). Infertility: Assisted Methods of Reproduction and Hormonal Assays provides an overview of ART methods and discusses recent trends in the field. Chapters cover an array of topics including diagnosis of infertility using hormonal assays, adverse outcomes of ART, oocyte donation, cryopreservation of oocytes and embryos and psychosocial care.