Archive for the ‘In the News’ Category
Monday, June 27th, 2011
On Tuesday, June 21, 2011, it was announced that Disney/ABC Television Group and The American Fertility Association (AFA) would be working together in a limited fashion. Briefly, Disney/ABC has given the AFA an unrestricted educational grant to help the organization further its infertility prevention program.
The AFA currently has an online Infertility Prevention Handbook, which the Disney/ABC grant will help the AFA promote to educate people around the country about risks, choices and other information related to infertility. Currently, the AFA tries to get its Infertility Prevention Handbook to as many individuals as possible as a main part of its mission.
Though the amount of the Disney/ABC grant has not been publicly disclosed, it has been described in press releases as “generous”.
Like the AFA, the Reproductive Science Institute (RSI), one of the Philadelphia area’s premiere fertility clinics, also maintains a site with a plethora of in-depth, up-to-date patient resources. We invite you to look through our many webpages to find out more about infertility and the options available to you.
Remember that reputable infertility information should always be gleaned from trustworthy sources. There’s a lot of misinformation on the Internet; that’s why it’s always critical to make your final decisions with the help of a fertility specialist.
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Tags: Abc Television, Abraham Munabi, Afa, Dr. Munabi, Educational Grant, Facebook, Fertility Clinics, fertility specialist, Final Decisions, Infertility, June 21, Misinformation On The Internet, Patient Resources, Philadelphia Area, Plethora, Prevention Handbook, Prevention Program, Reproductive Science Institute, Reproductive Science Institute of Suburban Philadelphia, Rsi, Television Group, Trustworthy Sources, Twitter
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Friday, May 6th, 2011
You may not have heard of the syndrome commonly called “Fragile X” (also known as Escalante’s syndrome or Martin-Bell syndrome), but one of its manifestations can be infertility in females with the condition.
Fragile X typically causes inherited mental impairment, sometimes obvious and sometimes not. Everything from severe mental disabilities to mild autism can fall under the Fragile X umbrella. Thus, some who are afflicted with Fragile X may be unaware they have the condition.
Physical features of those with Fragile X or FXPOI vary; some have long faces, double-jointed thumbs and/or flat feet. But there are plenty of others who have the syndrome but show no such attributes.
Women in particular may have few of the typical Fragile X symptoms or characteristics, mainly because of their second X chromosome. In essence, their other X chromosome (ostensibly healthy and strong) keeps them from having signs.
It’s the same case for females who have FXPOI, or Fragile X-Associated Primary Ovarian Insufficiency, although some iteration of FXPOI usually raises its head sooner or later. Generally, FXPOI leads to menstrual and ovarian concerns which, in turn, create fertility issues if the individual later tries to have children.
If you’ve been having difficulty becoming pregnant and suspect that Fragile X or FXPOI may run in your family, it’s best to get a physician’s viewpoint. Then, you can proceed with more knowledge about the ideal ways for you to go about growing your family.
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Tags: Attributes, Escalante, Facebook, Females, Fertility Issues, Flat Feet, Fragile X, Infertility, Iteration, Long Faces, Manifestations, Martin Bell, Mental Disabilities, Mental Impairment, Mild Autism, Physical Features, Reproductive Science Institute, Rsi, Twitter, Umbrella, Viewpoint, X Chromosome
Posted in female infertility, In the News | No Comments »
Friday, April 29th, 2011
Hooray! It’s National Infertility Awareness Week from April 24-30, 2011!
In celebration, we at RSI, one of the Philadelphia area’s most reputable fertility clinics, would like to share some facts about fertility treatments, assisted reproductive techniques and other pertinent tidbits:
- The world’s first IVF birth was in 1978 in England.
- The first American IVF birth was in 1981 (30 years ago!)
- In some countries, fertility clinics will not allow certain couples to go through procedures because of age, sexual orientation and other factors. Thus, a phenomenon called “fertility tourism” has sprung onto the international scene.
- Not all fertility clinics accept patients in same-sex relationships. (RSI does.)
- Fertility clinics aren’t just for those over 35 or 40… many younger people are now seeking fertility treatments, especially if they have been trying to have a child unsuccessfully for six months or more.
- In-vitro fertilization (IVF) may get a lot of press, but it only represents about 5-10% of the procedures handled by fertility clinics.
- About 10% of all couples have trouble with fertility at some point. (This includes secondary infertility.)
- Endometriosis is a large contributing factor for many women; ironically, a good number of females do not realize they have this condition until they go to fertility clinics.
- Men and women have an equal chance of being infertile.
- STDs (especially those which have been undetected) are an increasing problem for those wishing to become pregnant.
- Even if you’ve had a child once, you can experience “secondary infertility.”
- The stigma of fertility treatments has been greatly reduced; consequently, more couples (and singles) are making appointments at fertility clinics in an effort to have children.
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Tags: April 24, Couples, Dr. Munabi, Endometriosis, Facebook, Females, Fertility Clinics, Fertility Treatments, Fertilization Ivf, Infertility, Infertility Awareness, National Infertility Awareness Week, Phenomenon, Philadelphia Area, Reproductive Science Institute, Rsi, Same Sex Relationships, Secondary Infertility, Sexual Orientation, STDs, Stigma, Twitter, Vitro Fertilization
Posted in Fertility Treatments, In the News | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
In medical news…
Japanese researchers have reproduced sperm in an effort to better understand the process of spermatogenesis and possibly help increase infertile men’s abilities to naturally reproduce.
During numerous experiments, test tube-created sperm from infant mice cells were developed “artificially” in the lab environment and subsequently injected into female mice ova. The result? Healthy mouse babies that were all born fertile themselves.
Though this research has not been tested on other animals (and certainly not humans), the implications for men suffering from male infertility (or who may suffer from male infertility, as would be the case with young men undergoing cancer treatments) are abundant.
The Japanese scientists are highly encouraged by the idea that freezing testicular tissues before any male infertility issues arise (e.g., prior to chemotherapy or radiation), sperm can later be made in the laboratory and then used to fertilize eggs.
Quick stat:
Male infertility is estimated to affect approximately 30% of men around the world. Although most are what is considered to be “sub-fertile”, around 2% of all males are entirely infertile.
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Tags: Cancer Treatments, Cells, Chemotherapy, Dr. Munabi, Eggs, Female Mice, infertile men, Infertility, Infertility News, Infertility Treatments, Japanese Researchers, Japanese Scientists, Lab Environment, Male Infertility, Male Infertility Issues, Medical News, Process Of Spermatogenesis, Quick Stat, radiation, Reproductive Science Institute of Suburban Philadelphia, Rsi, Test Tube, Tissues, Young Men
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Monday, February 28th, 2011
In the past decade or so, the realization has come about that bones are more than simply a structure to hold our organs, muscles and skin. There are in fact correlations to the internal make-up of bones and energy metabolism as well as reproduction. It is well-known that there is a connection between menopause and osteoporosis in women. Thus, it came a surprise to Gerald Karsenty and his colleagues at Columbia University in New York City that their study with mice showed a relationship between bone cells and sperm production in male mice, yet no effect (at this time) on any female reproductive aspects.
To break the study down, osteocalcin is a hormone contained in osteoblasts. Osteoblasts are bone cells that partake in building new bone cells. In this study, the researchers took osteoblasts and combined them with cell cultures from either testes or ovaries of mice. The results showed a great increase in testosterone in the testis cells but no reaction or change in hormones in the ovary cells due to the introduction of the osteoblasts. Given these results, the researchers went on to inject osteoblasts into the blood stream of male mice, which resulted in increased production of testosterone in the blood stream. To further specify their testing, the researchers took a batch of male mice and removed their gene for osteocalcin. The mice without osteocalcin had smaller testes, lower sperm counts and smaller litter sizes when bred than normal male mice.
Though this study has only been performed on mice at this time, Karsenty has strong feelings that the hormone osteocalcin may play a factor in fertilty in men and believes that it could possibly be used in the future in treatments for male infertilty.
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Tags: Blood Stream, Bone Cells, Cell Cultures, Columbia University, Correlations, Dr. Munabi, Energy Metabolism, Fertility, Fertilty, Hormones, Infertilty, Litter Sizes, Low Sperm Count, Male Factor, Male Fertility, Male Infertility, Male Mice, Menopause And Osteoporosis, Osteocalcin, Ovaries, Ovary, Reproductive Aspects, Rsi, Sperm Counts, Testes, Testosterone
Posted in In the News, Infertility, Male Infertility | No Comments »
Monday, February 21st, 2011
In the United States, our laws currently protect all egg donors and sperm donors with anonymity. People looking for donors for their future child(ren) look through a list of the donors that identifies them solely by characteristics that could be pertinent to the future parents.
In Australia, however, legislation is being looked over at this time which, if passed, would give more rights to the conceived child. At the age of 18 a donor-conceived individual would be allowed to identify their donor if they wished to, much like American laws for adopted children. On the other hand, donors would not be allowed to find their offspring. Separate rules would have to be put in place to deal with the situation regarding siblings and half-siblings as well. It is quite feasible that a donor would become the donor parent to more than one child, possibly from different families, and if they had their own offspring as well, all of those children would be biological half-siblings at least.
Everything is yet to be finalized as far as the laws regarding egg donation and sperm donation in Australia, but the situation certainly raises a number of opinions and ideas for discussion.
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Tags: Anonymity, Australia, Egg Donation, Egg Donor, Egg Donors, Future Child, Future Parents, Legislation, Offspring, Siblings, Sperm Donation, sperm donor, Sperm Donors, United States
Posted in Egg Donation, Europe, In the News | No Comments »
Monday, February 7th, 2011
A couple in Plano, Texas just celebrated the 1st birthday of their twin daughters. After years of facing infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss, they finally achieved their dream of becoming parents through a somewhat unique method. They used a gestational carrier, which is like surrogacy in the sense that another woman carries a couple’s baby for the term of pregnancy for them. Gestational carriers differ from surrogacy in that the pregnant woman and the baby or babies she is carrying do not share any biological connection. A surrogate mother’s own eggs are contributed to the baby she carries. When a couple opts to use a gestational carrier, an embryo is created of his own sperm and her own egg(s) and the embryo(s) are then placed into the uterus of the gestational carrier by way of IVF.
This couple’s journey included five miscarriages of pregnancies achieved through intrauterine insemination (IUI). At the recommendation of their fertility doctor, they took the route of using a gestational carrier and have been overjoyed with the results! They took advantage of the laws in Texas that allowed them to utilize this method of assisted reproductive technology. The laws vary in every state regarding surrogacy and are even more strict when it comes to gestational carriers. We congratulate this Texas couple on their success and joy over their one-year-old daughters!
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Tags: Assisted Reproductive Technology, Becoming Parents, Biological Connection, embryo, Fertility Doctor, First Birthday, Gestational Carrier, Gestational Carriers, Infertility, Intrauterine Insemination Iui, IUI, IVF, Miscarriages, Plano Texas, Pregnancies, Pregnant Woman, recurrent pregnancy loss, surrogacy, Surrogate Mother, Texas Couple, Twin Daughters, Uterus
Posted in In the News, surrogacy | No Comments »
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011
For mother Penny Jarvis-Stephens of South Yorkshire, England, the decision to freeze some of her own eggs for her daughter’s future use was an easy one. Penny’s daughter, Mackenzie, is only two years old, but was born with Turner Syndrome which is known to cause infertility. While Mackenzie would obviously not use the eggs for a long time, Penny wants to plan ahead for her daughter’s future. She wants Mackenzie to have the option to experience the joys of motherhood as she, a mother of five, has. The chances are extremely high, though, given Mackenzie’s condition with Turner Syndrome, that one of her only chances for having a child would be through IVF. Thus, Penny is looking into the process of freezing donor eggs now while she is still within child-bearing age. “I’m looking at it as donating an organ,” Penny explains.
Some might think of this as a thoughtful gesture on the part of this mother. Such is not the case for everyone, however. Penny has received a number of negative comments, some even abusive, on an internet forum where she had posted her plans. This controversy begs the question as to whether people are opposed to IVF egg donors being family members or just between the case of mother and daughter? Or is the controversy simply brought up because the eggs are intended for a child who is not even close to being of an age of considering using those eggs? Whatever anyone’s opinion may be, we hope that Penny receives the best counsel on how to accomplish the plan that she has chosen.
Have you ever considered using a donor egg? Or perhaps donating your own eggs? We are more than happy to provide more information or answer any questions you may have about either process!
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Tags: Controversy, Donating Eggs, Donor Egg, Donor Eggs, Egg Donors, Family Members, Infertility, Internet Forum, IVF, Jarvis, Joys Of Motherhood, Long Time, Mackenzie, Mother And Daughter, Negative Comments, One Penny, South England, South Yorkshire England, Thoughtful Gesture, Turner Syndrome, Yorkshire
Posted in Egg Donation, In the News | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 26th, 2010
Robert Edwards, a British physiologist, is often called the “father” of IVF (aka, “test tube babies”, a term that has gone out of vogue though is still remembered by many.) To honor his achievements that have allowed so many couples and individuals to become mothers and fathers, he was recently given a special award – the Nobel Prize for Medicine.
Edwards began working on IVF in the 50s and continued to hone it throughout his career despite huge controversies surrounding the treatment. Today, IVF has become a standard procedure in fertility clinicsaround the world from Australia to Hong Kong.
Upon giving Edwards his Nobel Prize, the Nobel Prize committee noted that:
“His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility, a medical condition afflicting a large proportion of humanity including more than 10 percent of all couples worldwide…”
The first baby born via IVFwas the UK’s Louise Brown, whose date of birth is July, 1978. Ironically, in 2006, Brown gave birth herself, though she didn’t use fertility drugs or processes.
Tags: 50s, Controversies, Couples, Date Of Birth, Fertility Clinics, Fertility Drugs, Hong Kong, Infertility, IVF, Louise Brown, Medical Condition, Miracles, Mothers And Fathers, Nobel Prize Committee, Nobel Prize For Medicine, Physiologist, Proportion, Robert Edwards, Test Tube Babies, Vogue
Posted in In the News, IVF treatments | No Comments »
Friday, October 22nd, 2010
In news that pleasantly surprised fertility specialists around the globe and heartened would-be parents, an embryo that had been frozen for 20 years was used to fertilize a 42-year-old woman who could not conceive naturally. (The two-decade old embryo was from an unrelated donor.) The woman is a resident of the United States and gave birth in May to a healthy boy.
The news item raises some interesting questions, including how long an embryo can stay viable while frozen. Some fertility doctors speculate that 20 years isn’t even close to the length of time that’s potentially possible. One recent study even estimated that the passage of 40 years wouldn’t be a problem if the embryo had been stored correctly.
This gives great hope to women who decide to freeze their eggs at an early age if they know they are going to undergo a procedure such as radiation or chemotherapy which can rob them of their fertility. Using a surrogate, if necessary, they can use their own frozen embryos to create new life.
Tags: Chemotherapy, Decade, Eggs, embryo, Fertility Doctors, Fertility Specialists, Frozen Embryos, Globe, Interesting Questions, Length Of Time, Miracles, News Item, Old Woman, Parents, radiation, Surrogate, United States, Unrelated Donor
Posted in Egg Donation, In the News | No Comments »
A Mother’s Plan to Freeze Eggs for Her Daughter
Wednesday, February 2nd, 2011For mother Penny Jarvis-Stephens of South Yorkshire, England, the decision to freeze some of her own eggs for her daughter’s future use was an easy one. Penny’s daughter, Mackenzie, is only two years old, but was born with Turner Syndrome which is known to cause infertility. While Mackenzie would obviously not use the eggs for a long time, Penny wants to plan ahead for her daughter’s future. She wants Mackenzie to have the option to experience the joys of motherhood as she, a mother of five, has. The chances are extremely high, though, given Mackenzie’s condition with Turner Syndrome, that one of her only chances for having a child would be through IVF. Thus, Penny is looking into the process of freezing donor eggs now while she is still within child-bearing age. “I’m looking at it as donating an organ,” Penny explains.
Some might think of this as a thoughtful gesture on the part of this mother. Such is not the case for everyone, however. Penny has received a number of negative comments, some even abusive, on an internet forum where she had posted her plans. This controversy begs the question as to whether people are opposed to IVF egg donors being family members or just between the case of mother and daughter? Or is the controversy simply brought up because the eggs are intended for a child who is not even close to being of an age of considering using those eggs? Whatever anyone’s opinion may be, we hope that Penny receives the best counsel on how to accomplish the plan that she has chosen.
Have you ever considered using a donor egg? Or perhaps donating your own eggs? We are more than happy to provide more information or answer any questions you may have about either process!
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Tags: Controversy, Donating Eggs, Donor Egg, Donor Eggs, Egg Donors, Family Members, Infertility, Internet Forum, IVF, Jarvis, Joys Of Motherhood, Long Time, Mackenzie, Mother And Daughter, Negative Comments, One Penny, South England, South Yorkshire England, Thoughtful Gesture, Turner Syndrome, Yorkshire
Posted in Egg Donation, In the News | No Comments »