Egg Donor & Surrogacy Consulting Blog : Egg Donation & Surrogacy Consulting : Conceptual Options : Theresa Erickson : Embryo Donation, In-Vitro Fertilization

A woman in Ohio was implanted with the wrong embryo eight months ago, and she and her husband decided to keep the pregnancy, despite the fact that they know that they will be saying "hello and goodbye" at the same time to the child that is not theirs. 

According to the couple, when they received the call from the doctor telling them that they were pregnant, the doctor also told them in the same sentence that it was the wrong embryo.  The doctor gave them the option to abort; however, they could not go against their religious beliefs.  I find this couple to be an honorable couple, and I hope that their journey ends well.  It appears that they intend to use their remaining embryos in a gestational carrier very soon, as the woman can no longer carry. 

A very sad story, and we hope them, as well as the child and his family, the best.  As for the IVF doctor and clinic, it was honorable that they informed the couple right away unlike Dr. Katz in California, who has since lost his license and who did not inform the woman until the child was 10 months old.  Unfortunately, providing the information right away still does not take away the damage that was done.

I am not sure what to say on this one.  I think this couple is incredible, but what an experience.  What do you think?

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Although most of my clients come to me after years of struggling with infertility to such as degree that they have to move into the area of third party reproduction; however, today, I wanted to provide some guidance to those who are "newbies."  In fact, I found a great blog that provides alot of useful information that one can refer back to over and over.  It is found at Quips & Tips for Couples Coping with Infertility. 

Some of the guidance that people at all stages should follow are as follows courtesy of this blog hostess:

"Tips for In Vitro Fertilization - IVF

Arm yourself with info, but don’t get alarmed. Our IVF doctor gave us a sheath of info and consent forms, and some of it revolves around the possible hazards of the egg retrieval and implantation surgeries. They list the possible problems (infection, intestinal punctures) and say “this is not to alarm or scare you!” One tip for IVF is to get all the info you can…but don’t let it freak you out.

Talk to couples who’ve tried IVF. When you get first-hand experiences, you’ll have more info than you ever wanted! To connect with other couples coping with infertility, ask your fertility specialist if they know of any support groups in nearby hospitals or communities. If you’re brave enough, you can ask your friends and family…and find blogs or websites like these!

Read fertility books. Current books about IVF, donor sperm, IUI, and natural treatments for infertility are great ways to learn about the procedure. The more you know about IVF, the more comfortable you’ll feel, which is why these tips for in vitro fertilization are so important.

Read Fertility Plus’ article called IVF Hints. I didn’t agree about the “don’t talk to your partner about his role, as this causes stress” part, but I think it depends on each couple. Everyone copes with infertility differently! If stress leads to performance anxiety, then by all means keep him calm…but if he’s not involved in the sperm donor process, then talk as much as you need!

Do a mock IVF transfer? This is one of the tips for in vitro fertilization suggested by Fertility Plus, but I don’t think we’ll do it. It may be good in theory, but I suspect it’ll cost more time, money, and energy than I can spare. A mock IVF transfer can give the fertility specialist an idea of the depth of your uterus, so when the real time comes, they’re ready.

Be prepared for anything. I’m prepared for pain, discomfort, mood swings, and the fact that this IVF could lead to pregnancy…or another disappointment. I’m prepared for things I can’t even fathom right now! I’m ready for anything.

Plan something fun for after the transfer! Some fertility specialists say to relax right after the egg and sperm are placed, while other say it’s not scientifically proven that increases the success of in vitro fertilization. My tip for a successful IVF is to rent a few of your favorite or new DVDs, make popcorn, snuggle up with your sweetie, and take a day or two off! Give yourself something enjoyable to look forward to.

Plan something fun for after the pregnancy test. If my in vitro fertilization isn’t successful, I’m getting laser eye surgery. Having 20/20 or better vision isn’t as good as a baby, but at least it’s something to look forward to!

What are your tips for or thoughts about in vitro fertilization? I’d love to hear from you - please comment below. Is IVF painful? How many times did you try? Did it eventually work for you? What would you do differently?"

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Unfortunately, due to my attendance at the Donor Egg Meeting in South Carolina, today’s updates are minimal. Hopefully, this conference will give me plenty to blog about next week, so stay tuned.

UK - Lesbians Want Access to IVF from NHS. The Sun is reporting the following: “Caroline Harris and Julie McMullan claimed discrimination and breach of human rights after they were rejected for IVF treatment. They say they suffered “distress and anxiety” — and ran up a bill of £11,000 paying for private care.

They want a judge to review the decision by NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde .  The couple, whose challenge is backed by equality officials, also want the health board to order fertility treatment for Caroline.

NHS chiefs insist the service, which costs £3,300 a time, is for couples who have tried in vain to conceive in the normal way. In papers lodged at the Court of Session in Edinburgh, they claim Caroline and Julie do not fit the definition of an infertile couple.

But the women claim official rules do not mention that only same-sex couples can get treatment.”

Furthermore, “Last night, the Equality and Human Rights Commission Scotland — who are backing the women — said that “discrimination of this type is unlawful.”

Spokeswoman Lynn Welsh added: ‘It will not be tolerated in a fair society. Equality means that while no one has an absolute right to receive treatment, the services provided by the NHS have to be available to everyone equally.’

A full hearing is expected at a later date. “

Click Here for Complete Article

Australia – An Australian woman claims her fertility lost her last embryo, thereby thwarting her chances at motherhood – and she is suing for pain and suffering. The article provides details as follows: “The woman, said to be in her late 40s, alleges Melbourne IVF staff allowed her potential baby to be destroyed.

She claims to have paid storage fees for years to preserve on ice the last of 13 embryos created during infertility treatment in 2003 and 2004.

But the embryo allegedly couldn't be found for a final round of treatment in 2007.

The woman has launched legal action in the County Court against Melbourne IVF, which is expected to defend the claim.

Court documents filed by the woman's lawyers this week claim the would-be mom started IVF treatment in October 2003.

A total of 31 eggs were harvested and 13 of the resulting embryos were frozen, the suit says.

The woman alleges Melbourne IVF's Dr. Geoffrey Clarke assured her one embryo would be kept in storage for later use.”

Click Here for Complete Article

Click Here for Another Article On This Case

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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State Senator Gloria Negrete McLeod (D-Chino) intends to introduce a measure that will establish accredidation standards and guidelines for the operation of fertility clinics.  The intent is to better protect the public because of the increasing number of surgical procedures being performed outside of the walls of a hospital.  The measure would essentially bring fertility clinics under the jurisdiction of the Medical Board of California requiring the establishment of standardized procedures and protocols to be followed in the event of complications and to govern emergency and urgent care situations.

This bill will also affect other clinics, such as plastic surgery centers.  This bill also recommends some additional requirements including disclosure; however, this just appears to be the first of many regulations to come after the wake of the octuplets. 

Click Here for Complete Article

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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I am still waiting for this controversy to finally die down, but it sure does not look that way with new information coming out about the mother and her fertility doctor.  But, today I want to stay away from that and look more to the regulations that everyone is literally screaming for at the top of their lungs.  I understand that everyone wants some control since it looks like the tax payers are ultimately going to pay the bill for her decisions, but I also want to make note of how regulations will also affect the millions of other fertility patients that do make sound decisions in their family planning.

First, in other countries that have regulations surrounding the number of embryos being implanted, I want to note that the government actually foots the bill for a certain number of IVF cycles - thereby giving patients an added assurance that they can try one embryo at a time because their government will pay for another (possibly) cycle.  Here, in the US, we do not have that luxury as this is a cash business.  Very few, if any states and insurance companies cover the costs of IVF.  These patients are then placed in the dilemma of not having enough funds to cover another cycle if this one does not work.

Now, with that in mind, I want to encourage everyone to look at the issue of regulations with an open mind, and look at what Dr. James A. Grifo, the program director of the New York University Fertility Center at the Langone Medical Center and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology at the university’s School of Medicine, has to say in the following piece:

"The fascination with the octuplets born last week has dominated the news media. But after the initial marvel of the miraculous feat faded, we were left wondering why an unemployed mother of six wanted more. Responses from around the country, and within the medical community, included cries of malpractice and demands for new laws regulating fertility treatment.

But where would this lead? A knee-jerk response to one outlier does not always prevent the next. Legislation about how to practice medicine threatens doctor-patient relations and has unintended consequences that may be worse than the actual problem. We live in a country that doesn’t regulate family size. If we were to decree a proper number, who would decide?

In 1992, Congress passed a law requiring fertility clinics to report their pregnancy rates. It came about because a rogue practitioner was telling patients the success rates of in vitro fertilization based on national statistics and neglecting to mention that his own clinic had none. Thus a national registry was born, financed by taxpayers. The clinics that refused were listed as non reporters, hardly a punishment.

But the implications of a government published report were unanticipated and it changed behavior. Since clinics were measured by pregnancy rates, there was incentive to implant more embryos into a patient — creating the unwanted consequence of a boom in twins and triplets.

The American Society of Reproductive Medicine and its subgroup, the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologists, recognized the problem and published guidelines for the number of embryos to transfer to maximize pregnancy rates but minimize multiple gestation, especially triplets and beyond. We have now published three iterations of these guidelines since 1999 with a significant decline in the incidence of triplets and higher. This happened without laws being passed; it was simple cooperation of clinicians doing the right thing for positive change to happen.

Medicine cannot be practiced in a vacuum or by legislation. It requires a patient and physician dialogue, it requires decision-making that minimizes risk and maximizes good outcome, and it requires patients and physicians to make good decisions. Indeed, that is already happening but that story is lost in the tsunami of one unusual case whose facts are not known."

Click Here for the Complete Article

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

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I do hate stories such as this that capture so much media attention.  They actually take away attention from all of the “good” stories out there, such as the couple who conquered their infertility after five tries at IVF.  Just today I read scores of articles calling the birth an outrage and the actions of the doctor criminal.  I am still on the fence about this entire story, and I am withholding judgment at this point, but I am curious to see what others are thinking.

Click Here for Article from LA Times - Octuplets’ birth spawns outrage

Click Here for a Press Release from an IVF Physician in Georgia

Click Here for Blog from San Diego IVF Physician

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

Subscribe to my blog at: http://www.surrogacyeggdonorblog.com/subscribe.html

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With all of the criticism over the number of embryos being transferred during IVF treatments in response to the octuplets, it is good to hear that some new techniques are being developed to help counter that.  In the UK, they have developed Comparative Genomic Hybridization, which employs a microscopic needle to remove the chromosomes from that capsule without disturbing the egg.

"A leading British fertility clinic has developed a new technique that could dramatically increase a woman's chances of having a successful in-vitro fertilization treatment.

Doctors at Nottingham's CARE Fertility clinic have found a way to extract the extra set of chromosomes released by a woman's egg and analyze it for abnormalities.

Chromosomal abnormalities in the embryo are one of the main reasons pregnancies fail."

It sounds like promising science.  Let's see where this goes.

Click Here for Complete Article

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy & Egg Donation Center    
www.ConceptualOptions.com

Subscribe to my blog at: http://www.surrogacyeggdonorblog.com/subscribe.html

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I have been trying to show restraint with my opinion on the octuplets because I believe strongly in reproductive freedom for everyone in America, and I also understand an individuals strong desire for children.  But, I really enjoyed the piece written by George Dvorsky on the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies Blog.  He makes quite a few good points involving common sense and restraint.  As many have cited, he wants ASRM to set up and give their guidelines some teeth.  I am not certain if that will happen or if it should happen, but let me know what you think. 

"Like a lot of people last week, I was shocked to find out that Nadya Suleman, the mother of the octuplets born last week in Los Angeles, already has 6 children—all between the ages of 2 and 7.

And that she is a single mother who has already filed for bankruptcy, and that she is a self-described “professional student” who lives off education grants and parental money.....

Looking at this case one gets the feeling that some fertility clinics look upon their patients as nothing more than customers. Given the nature of their work, however, this attitude will simply not do.

A lassez-faire approach to repro-tech won’t work to protect the interests of those hoping to use these technologies and to protect those lives that are created as a result. I agree that regulation should be very liberal and accommodating to a diverse set of interests, but complete de-regulation would be both dangerous and facile.

But establishing regulations and guidelines is one thing, enforcing it is quite another.

In some cases, this one included, it would be perfectly reasonable for the state to intervene and deny access, or at the very least compel clinics to follow a strict set of guidelines to prevent this sort of thing from happening. It’s time to empower groups like the ASRM—particularly now as new reproductive technologies are emerging quickly. This way, fertility clinics will be compelled to follow the rules and be held accountable for their actions.

It’s clear that this has to happen. Clinics won’t regulate themselves.

But why should we have expected them to? They’re not the ones who now have to raise these children. "

Click Here For Complete Article

See Also Article by the Reproductive Rights Prof Blog

Theresa M. Erickson, Esq.
Surrogacy Lawyer & Egg Donation Lawyer 
www.EricksonLaw.net

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Many people thinking about using assisted reproductive technologies to start a family think of almost every possible outcome, except for how much all of it will cost - considering that most, if not all, health insurance policies will not cover assisted reproductive technologies. Even though these expenses are great, and even without the added expenses associated with the use of a surrogate and/or an egg donor, it is still possible for many…IF they just look through their financials and really focus on how much it could possibly cost them and what they can to do to budget and afford these costly, but ultimately priceless expenses.

So, it is best to start early with your own financial assessment and investigate the options available for financing. Yes, they are still out there, despite what is going on with Wall Street. Once that is done, ask questions of your doctor, your agency, your friends, and anyone else that have gone through this - after all, the only dumb question is the one that is never asked.

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There is a lot of hype about whether acupuncture aids in conception with IVF.  Some professionals believe it absolutely helps while others think it is just another expense to the couple.

Eric Manheimer, a research associate at the University of Maryland School of Medicine's Center for Integrative Medicine looked at seven trials that included 1,366 women undergoing IVF.  Each trial compared acupuncture given within one day of the embryo transfer to sham acupuncture (using a placebo needle) or no acupunction.  They found that the women who had the acupuncture increased their chances of becoming pregnant by 65 percent.    This means that 10 women would need to be treated with acupunction to result in one additional pregnancy. 

It was also found that in Centers where the pregnancy rates are already high, the benefit of acupuncture was small and non-significant. 

At this time, most IVF patients who are participating in acupunction are doing so without the suggestion of their doctor.  Rather, they choose to do so themselves.   Dr. Owen K. Davis, co-director and associate professor at the Center for Reproductive Medicine and Infertility at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York City said "I don't think we can say conclusively that acupuncture is effective or is anywhere near being a standard care, but it's not something I would discourage someone from trying if they wanted to.  But I'm far removed from prescribing it to patients".

As a surrogate, I have worked with Intended Parents who felt it would be helpful.  I went the Acupuncturist once a week while cycling to the transfer.  Then the Acupuncturist met me at the IVF Center one hour before the transfer.  I saw her one more time before my pregnancy test.  I was pregnant, but no more pregnant than the other three times it was successful without acupuncture.  I will say that acupuncture is very relaxing.  You are at peace with yourself  while you are laying there.   

At this time incorporating acupunction into your IVF treatment is an individual decision.  If you feel better having acupuncture, then if may work for you.

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