In vitro fertilization is a procedure that childless couples may use when they are having trouble conceiving the natural way. It is the next step after artificial insemination has failed to yield the desired result. The IVF procedure involves fertilization of the woman's eggs in a petri dish and then implanting the resulting embryos. Unused embryos are a byproduct of this process. There are a number of different ways of dealing with these and it is the responsibility of the parents to determine what happens to them.
Once the eggs are fertilized, spare embryos that are not implanted may be frozen and stored. With modern vitrification freezing techniques, these living embryos may remain viable for years. Parents may decide to store them for future use, donate them for pioneering stem cell research, donate them to other couples who are unable to create their own embryos, continue to store them year after year or they may choose to have them destroyed.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells at an early stage of development. They have the potential to differentiate into other types o f mature cell. This is referred to as pluripotency. Stem cells are becoming increasingly useful as a medical treatment for all sorts of conditions. Because this procedure is open to serious abuse, it is tightly regulated.
Scientists at the University of Utah were the first to inject stem cells into the left ventricles of patients to treat heart failure. Cardiac repair cells were drawn from the patients' own bone marrow and placed into culture for around 12 days. The cells that survived in culture turned out to be stronger than the patient's original cells and were injected into the left ventricles of the patients' hearts.
The first time stem cells were isolated from mice was in 1981; in humans, it was 1998. These cells may arise from spare human embryos that did not need to be implanted. Other places where stem cells come from include peripheral blood, umbilical cords and bone marrow. Other conditions apart from heart failure where stem cells have been used include diabetes, neurological problems and cancer.
Bone marrow is located deep inside the large bones of the body; specifically, the pelvic bone. Getting to these cells is a highly painful procedure so it is commonly accomplished with the use of a general anesthetic. Then, a large-bore needle is used to draw the cells via the hip bone.
Peripheral blood is not normally a rich source of stem cells. However, when donors are given hormones called growth factors a few days before the harvest increases their cell numbers. This process can take several hours. The blood of newborn babies is rich in stem cells. Those left in the umbilical cord are harvested and frozen for future transplantation. So far, umbilical cord cell transplants have only been conducted in children and small adults.
When couples who have stored embryos no longer want to have children, they may donate the spare embryos to scientific research or they may give them to other couples who are having trouble conceiving by other means.
Once the eggs are fertilized, spare embryos that are not implanted may be frozen and stored. With modern vitrification freezing techniques, these living embryos may remain viable for years. Parents may decide to store them for future use, donate them for pioneering stem cell research, donate them to other couples who are unable to create their own embryos, continue to store them year after year or they may choose to have them destroyed.
Stem cells are undifferentiated cells at an early stage of development. They have the potential to differentiate into other types o f mature cell. This is referred to as pluripotency. Stem cells are becoming increasingly useful as a medical treatment for all sorts of conditions. Because this procedure is open to serious abuse, it is tightly regulated.
Scientists at the University of Utah were the first to inject stem cells into the left ventricles of patients to treat heart failure. Cardiac repair cells were drawn from the patients' own bone marrow and placed into culture for around 12 days. The cells that survived in culture turned out to be stronger than the patient's original cells and were injected into the left ventricles of the patients' hearts.
The first time stem cells were isolated from mice was in 1981; in humans, it was 1998. These cells may arise from spare human embryos that did not need to be implanted. Other places where stem cells come from include peripheral blood, umbilical cords and bone marrow. Other conditions apart from heart failure where stem cells have been used include diabetes, neurological problems and cancer.
Bone marrow is located deep inside the large bones of the body; specifically, the pelvic bone. Getting to these cells is a highly painful procedure so it is commonly accomplished with the use of a general anesthetic. Then, a large-bore needle is used to draw the cells via the hip bone.
Peripheral blood is not normally a rich source of stem cells. However, when donors are given hormones called growth factors a few days before the harvest increases their cell numbers. This process can take several hours. The blood of newborn babies is rich in stem cells. Those left in the umbilical cord are harvested and frozen for future transplantation. So far, umbilical cord cell transplants have only been conducted in children and small adults.
When couples who have stored embryos no longer want to have children, they may donate the spare embryos to scientific research or they may give them to other couples who are having trouble conceiving by other means.