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.
These spare embryos remain frozen and stored. With today's tissue-freezing methods, these spare embryos retain their viability for many, many years. The parents can decide to keep them in storage, pass them on to other childless couples who are unable to conceive or donate them for scientific research using stem cells. This is becoming an extremely popular process with couples who find themselves unable to produce their own embryos via in vitro fertilization. The parents of the excess embryos may also ultimately decide to discard them.
Stem cells are very primitive cells that have the potential to differentiate into just about any other cell type in the human body. This property is referred to as pluripotency. These cells are becoming more and more useful in medicine. There is a significant potential for abuse of these cells. For this reason, their use is very closely regulated by governmental authorities.
Researchers at the University of Utah pioneered the procedure whereby a patient's own stem cells are injected into their left ventricle in an attempt to treat heart failure. At this point, they are called cardiac repair cells. They are derived from the patient's bone marrow and then cultured for just under fortnight, after which they are implanted into the heart. It turns out these cells are much hardier than the original cells that were harvested from the bone marrow.
Stem cells were first isolated from mice in 1981 and in humans in 1998. Some are derived from human embryos that were not used in IVF, although there are other sources. Stem cells may also be harvested from umbilical cords, bone marrow and peripheral blood. Stem cells have shown promise in treating many different medical conditions. These include cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes.
Bone marrow comes from rich deposits deep inside the larger bones of the human body, most notably the pelvic bone. This process is very painful so it is performed under a general anesthetic. A wide-bore needle is injected into the hip and then into the bone marrow from which the tissue is collected.
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.
Once the couples who have been storing embryos are sure they no longer want any more children, their spare embryos may be donated to other couples, to scientific research or they may be ultimately destroyed.
These spare embryos remain frozen and stored. With today's tissue-freezing methods, these spare embryos retain their viability for many, many years. The parents can decide to keep them in storage, pass them on to other childless couples who are unable to conceive or donate them for scientific research using stem cells. This is becoming an extremely popular process with couples who find themselves unable to produce their own embryos via in vitro fertilization. The parents of the excess embryos may also ultimately decide to discard them.
Stem cells are very primitive cells that have the potential to differentiate into just about any other cell type in the human body. This property is referred to as pluripotency. These cells are becoming more and more useful in medicine. There is a significant potential for abuse of these cells. For this reason, their use is very closely regulated by governmental authorities.
Researchers at the University of Utah pioneered the procedure whereby a patient's own stem cells are injected into their left ventricle in an attempt to treat heart failure. At this point, they are called cardiac repair cells. They are derived from the patient's bone marrow and then cultured for just under fortnight, after which they are implanted into the heart. It turns out these cells are much hardier than the original cells that were harvested from the bone marrow.
Stem cells were first isolated from mice in 1981 and in humans in 1998. Some are derived from human embryos that were not used in IVF, although there are other sources. Stem cells may also be harvested from umbilical cords, bone marrow and peripheral blood. Stem cells have shown promise in treating many different medical conditions. These include cancer, neurological disorders and diabetes.
Bone marrow comes from rich deposits deep inside the larger bones of the human body, most notably the pelvic bone. This process is very painful so it is performed under a general anesthetic. A wide-bore needle is injected into the hip and then into the bone marrow from which the tissue is collected.
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.
Once the couples who have been storing embryos are sure they no longer want any more children, their spare embryos may be donated to other couples, to scientific research or they may be ultimately destroyed.
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