In vitro fertilization called an ethical failure

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As the world's first test tube baby turns 30 today, a London doctor says Canada's efforts in the area have been a scientific success and an ethical failure.

Following Louise Brown's birth in England, University Hospital here became a world leader in the technique known as IVF -- in vitro fertilization, said Jeff Nisker, a professor of obstetrics/gynecology at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry.

"University Hospital's reproductive endocrinology unit by 1994 had created the second most families with assisted reproduction in the world. We led the world here in London," said Nisker, who co-chaired the federal government committee that studied reproductive technology for seven years.

"We were always at the cutting edge of the science right from the beginning."

IVF involves eggs being taken from a women and fertilized outside of her body.

The fertilization is done with her partner's or a donor's sperm. The embryo is then transferred to the women's uterus.

In 1994, the Ontario government decided it would no longer pay for the procedure under OHIP unless the women's fallopian tubes are blocked.

"It is a huge problem because socially economically disadvantaged women cannot access appropriate medical treatment in Southwestern Ontario," said Nisker, who also is co-ordinator of health ethics at Western.

"Since 1994, six out of seven Canadian women for whom IVF would be medically appropriate are denied IVF because they can't afford to pay for it."

Costs for Ontario women at the London clinic for one treatment cycle amount to $6,700 with drug costs on top of that, according to the clinic's website.

While the 1994 decision to cut public funding was probably made for financial reasons, it was a bad decision, Nisker said.

The result has been instead of having one embryo implanted with IVF, women take fertility drugs and ending up with quadruplets and quintuplets. "There is the cost of caring for those children in the intensive care unit and a lot of them wind up having cognitive and physical impairment afterwards," he said.

Nisker said there's hope the province will decide to start paying for IVF after it appointed an expert panel this month to study infertility and adoption issues.

"There is no point putting energy into the science until public funding exists so all women in Southwestern Ontario have access," he said.

Additional information:

From lfpress.ca:
Dedicated to the study of endocrinology. Resources and information on a variety of disorders, professional.
Defines endocrinology and endocrine surgery. Quick look at the hormones produced by the thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal, pancreas, and pituitary.
In contrast to general endocrinology, which emphasizes similarities, usually among mammals, comparative endocrinology has a much broader focus that includes.
Subsection of American Journal of Physiology. Current articles and archived articles.
Domestic Animal Endocrinology publishes scientific papers dealing with the study of the endocrine physiology of domestic.
The Endocrinology collection covers topics such as thyroid and parathyroid diseases, hormone replacement, and osteoporosis and includes.
Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism, with its polished, concise and readable reviews, Research News, Meeting reports and discussions.
Information on endocrine disorders and diseases from the highly esteemed Endocrinology Section at the University of Chicago.

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