With IVF treatment legislation changes to be made soon, and with designer babies being an extremely sensitive issue for governments when it comes to a moral high-standing, but the UK is to take the lead and become the first country in the world to back the creation of three parent babies. While many doctors and scientists welcome the move, critics say that Britain is on the “slippery slope” to creating designer infants.
UK officials say it is only to allow the creation of three-parent IVF babies in order to eradicate genetic diseases, allowing IVF (in-vitro fertilisation) clinics to replace a baby’s defective mitochondrial DNA with healthy DNA from a female donor’s egg. Furthermore, any children born through the new IVF procedure will not be entitled to discover the true identity of the “third parent” donor. Dr David King, director of the pressure group “Human Genetics Alert” has stated that if the bill was passed, that this would be the first time that any Government has legalised inheritable human genome modification, and being something that is banned in all other European countries. He also said that the techniques have not yet passed the necessary safety tests, and that it really is unnecessary and premature to rush ahead with any changes to IVF legalisation.
IVF treatment has also been tested on 4 women in Sweden, who all underwent womb transplants having been donated by their relatives, and had IVF before the transplant, using their own eggs to make embryos. The treatment is designed to test whether it is possible to transfer a uterus into a woman so she can give birth to her own child. The development of womb transplants will give hope to thousands of childless women across Europe and at least 15,000 in the UK. This particular method has been controversial though as it involves the taking of a womb from a living donor, but the Swedish medical team say that advantages include the organs being generally in better condition and they are always a better immunological match, though other surgeons in the very same field don’t believe it is correct to put a living donor through such a major operation when it isn’t really life-saving.
The CNN has reported that more American women are now having more medical help to have their babies than ever, and according to the latest annual report from the “Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology”, doctors at Fertility clinics performed 165,172 procedures, including IVF, with 61,740 babies being born as a result in 2012. In the US, IVF treatment has become more medically successful over the years and is gaining acceptance, but it is still, however, cost-prohibitive for a lot of couples. Most assisted reproductive technologies are not covered by insurance, or the reimbursements are capped, according the National Infertility Association.
The average cost of one IVF treatment in the United States is $12,400, and that’s without the extra medicines the couple may need, and according to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine, couples will often need more than one treatment to conceive. In the UK, If you’re not eligible for NHS funding or you decide to pay for IVF, you can approach a private fertility clinic directly. Some clinics ask for a referral by your GP. On average, one cycle of IVF costs about £5000. However, this varies from clinic to clinic and there may be additional costs for medicines, consultations and tests.
Affordable IVF treatment is a lot more available abroad, with many English speaking IVF clinics in easy reach around Europe. A popular destination for IVF treatment abroad is Spain, with the IVF-Spain clinic in Alicante coming out top for positive result rates and high quality standards. Prices are also very competitive, so if you are looking at IVF treatment costs, then IVF-Spain do offer a free online test and consultation here: http://ivftreatmentspain.com/free-test-and-consultation
