Human Embryos And Preimplantation Genetic Technologies

Book Description :

Human Embryos and Preimplantation Genetic Technologies: Ethical, Social, and Public Policy Aspects presents the first holistic analysis of PGD and PGS as it is practiced and regulated worldwide. In addition to scientific and technical aspects, the book provides perspectives on the ethical, legal, religious, policy and social implications of global assisted reproduction technologies, including in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, and Australia. Chapters cover history, ethics, feminism, family dynamics, psychological and interpersonal factors, the current state of PGD and PGS in 20 different sovereign nations and religious communities, and provide an analysis of public policy concerns and future directions. Provides an in-depth discussion of PGD and PGS as practiced and regulated worldwide Offers an accessible resource for researchers, medical professionals, patients, regulators and policymakers seeking expert opinions on PGS and PGD Contains chapters contributed by international clinicians, researchers and thought leaders in the field of assisted reproductive technology

Book Description :

Heritable human genome editing - making changes to the genetic material of eggs, sperm, or any cells that lead to their development, including the cells of early embryos, and establishing a pregnancy - raises not only scientific and medical considerations but also a host of ethical, moral, and societal issues. Human embryos whose genomes have been edited should not be used to create a pregnancy until it is established that precise genomic changes can be made reliably and without introducing undesired changes - criteria that have not yet been met, says Heritable Human Genome Editing. From an international commission of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine, U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the U.K.'s Royal Society, the report considers potential benefits, harms, and uncertainties associated with genome editing technologies and defines a translational pathway from rigorous preclinical research to initial clinical uses, should a country decide to permit such uses. The report specifies stringent preclinical and clinical requirements for establishing safety and efficacy, and for undertaking long-term monitoring of outcomes. Extensive national and international dialogue is needed before any country decides whether to permit clinical use of this technology, according to the report, which identifies essential elements of national and international scientific governance and oversight.

Book Description :

This book discusses the possibilities for the use of ​international human rights law ​(and specifically, international biomedical laws related to the protection of human rights and the human genome) to provide a guiding framework for the future regulation of genetic modifications applied to human embryos and other precursor materials, when these are made with the aim of implanting a genetically altered embryo in a woman. The significance and timeliness of the work derives from the recent availability of CRISPR/​Cas9 and other gene editing tools, and from lacunae in international law regarding the legality of embryo modification with these tools and appropriate governance structures for the oversight of resulting practices. The emergence of ​improved genome editing tools like CRISPR/Cas9, holds the promise of eradicating genetic diseases in the near future. But its possible future applications with Pre-Implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) raises a plethora of legal and ethical concerns about "remaking" future human beings. The work aims to address an urgent call, to embed these rising concerns about biomedical advancements into the fundamental tailoring of legal systems. Suitable regulatory approaches, coupled with careful reflection of global biomedical laws and individual constitutional systems must be explored. The Book analyzes the impact of reproductive biomedical technologies on the legal and ethical dimensions of regulatory frameworks in selected constitutional systems like the US, the UK, Australia, Malaysia and Thailand. Employing a comparative law methodology, the work reveals a dynamic intersection between legal cultures, socio-philosophical reasoning and the development of a human rights-based framework in bio-political studies. Navigating towards a truly internationalized biomedical approach to emerging technologies, it presents an understanding why a renegotiation and reinvigoration of a contemporary and "new" universal shared values system in the ​international human rights discourse is now necessary.

Book Description :

The most profound dilemma in assisted reproduction to date is the inability to recognize potentially viable embryos before their replacement into the reproductive tract. Application of increasingly advanced new technology has allowed the field of embryo evaluation to evolve rapidly and dramatically over the past five years.Human Preimplantation Emb

Book Description :

A sharp-eyed exploration of the promise and peril of having children in an age of genetic tests and interventions Is screening for disease in an embryo a humane form of family planning or a slippery slope toward eugenics? Should doctors tell you that your infant daughter is genetically predisposed to breast cancer? If tests revealed that your toddler has a genetic mutation whose significance isn’t clear, would you want to know? In The Gene Machine, the award-winning journalist Bonnie Rochman deftly explores these hot-button questions, guiding us through the new frontier of gene technology and how it is transforming medicine, bioethics, health care, and the factors that shape a family. Rochman tells the stories of scientists working to unlock the secrets of the human genome; genetic counselors and spiritual advisers guiding mothers and fathers through life-changing choices; and, of course, parents (including Rochman herself) grappling with revelations that are sometimes joyous, sometimes heartbreaking, but always profound. She navigates the dizzying and constantly expanding array of prenatal and postnatal tests, from carrier screening to genome sequencing, while considering how access to more tests is altering perceptions of disability and changing the conversation about what sort of life is worth living and who draws the line. Along the way, she highlights the most urgent ethical quandary: Is this technology a triumph of modern medicine or a Pandora’s box of possibilities? Propelled by human narratives and meticulously reported, The Gene Machine is both a scientific road map and a meditation on our power to shape the future. It is a book that gets to the very core of what it means to be human.

Book Description :

Download Textbook of Assisted Reproduction for Scientists in Reproductive Technology book written by , available in PDF, EPUB, and Kindle, or read full book online anywhere and anytime. Compatible with any devices.

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Israel is the only country in the world that offers free fertility treatments to nearly any woman who requires medical assistance. It also has the world's highest per capita usage of in-vitro fertilization. Examining state policies and the application of reproductive technologies among Jewish Israelis, this volume explores the role of tradition and politics in the construction of families within local Jewish populations. The contributors-anthropologists, bioethicists, jurists, physicians and biologists-highlight the complexities surrounding these treatments and show how biological relatedness is being construed as a technology of power; how genetics is woven into the production of identities; how reproductive technologies enhance the policing of boundaries. Donor insemination, IVF and surrogacy, as well as abortion, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and human embryonic stem cell research, are explored within local and global contexts to convey an informed perspective on the wider Jewish Israeli environment.

Book Description :

Are new reproductive and genetic technologies racing ahead of a society that is unable to establish limits to their use? Have the "new genetics" outpaced our ability to control their future applications? This book examines the case of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), the procedure used to prevent serious genetic disease by embryo selection, and the so-called "designer baby" method. Using detailed empirical evidence, the authors show that far from being a runaway technology, the regulation of PGD over the past fifteen years provides an example of precaution and restraint, as well as continual adaptation to changing social circumstances. Through interviews, media and policy analysis, and participant observation at two PGD centers in the United Kingdom, Born and Made provides an in-depth sociological examination of the competing moral obligations that define the experience of PGD. Among the many novel findings of this pathbreaking ethnography of reproductive biomedicine is the prominence of uncertainty and ambivalence among PGD patients and professionals--a finding characteristic of the emerging "biosociety," in which scientific progress is inherently paradoxical and contradictory. In contrast to much of the speculative futurology that defines this field, Born and Made provides a timely and revealing case study of the on-the-ground decision-making that shapes technological assistance to human heredity.

Book Description :

Scientific breakthroughs have led us to a point where soon we will be able to make specific choices about the genetic makeup of our offspring. In fact, this reality has arrived—and it is only a matter of time before the technology becomes widespread. Much like past arguments about stem-cell research, the coming debate over these reproductive genetic technologies (RGTs) will be both political and, for many people, religious. In order to understand how the debate will play out in the United States, John H. Evans conducted the first in-depth study of the claims made about RGTs by religious people from across the political spectrum, and Contested Reproduction is the stimulating result. Some of the opinions Evans documents are familiar, but others—such as the idea that certain genetic conditions produce a “meaningful suffering” that is, ultimately, desirable—provide a fascinating glimpse of religious reactions to cutting-edge science. Not surprisingly, Evans discovers that for many people opinion on the issue closely relates to their feelings about abortion, but he also finds a shared moral language that offers a way around the unproductive polarization of the abortion debate and other culture-war concerns. Admirably evenhanded, Contested Reproduction is a prescient, profound look into the future of a hot-button issue.

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Allows readers to use critical thinking to create informed opinions on where they stand on the issue of reproductive technology.

Book Description :

Reprogenetic technologies, which combine the power of reproductive techniques with the tools of genetic science and technology, promise prospective parents a remarkable degree of control to pick and choose the likely characteristics of their offspring. Not only can they select embryos with or without particular genetically-related diseases and disabilities but also choose embryos with non-disease related traits such as sex. Prominent authors such as Agar, Buchanan, DeGrazia, Green, Harris, Robertson, Savulescu, and Silver have flocked to the banner of reprogenetics. For them, increased reproductive choice and reduced suffering through the elimination of genetic disease and disability are just the first step. They advocate use of these technologies to create beings who enjoy longer and healthier lives, possess greater intellectual capacities, and are capable of more refined emotional experiences. Indeed, Harris and Savulescu in particular take reprogenetic technologies to be so valuable to human beings that they have insisted that their use is not only morally permissible but morally required. Rethinking Reprogenetics challenges this mainstream view with a contextualised, gender-attentive philosophical perspective. De Melo-Martín demonstrates that you do not have to be a Luddite, social conservative, or religious zealot to resist the siren song of reprogenetics. Pointing out the flawed nature of the arguments put forward by the technologies' proponents, Rethinking Reprogenetics reveals the problematic nature of the assumptions underpinning current evaluations of these technologies and offers a framework for a more critical and sceptical assessment.

Book Description :

In recent years, the advancing science and increasing availability of assisted reproduction have given new hope to infertile couples. However, the use of IVF and ART has also led to marked increases in the number of multiple-infant live births. This poses a public health concern, as these neonates have a higher rate of pre-term delivery, compromising their survival chances and increasing their risk of lifelong disability. By optimizing the selection of gametes and embryos with high probabilities of implantation, it is possible to reduce the number of embryos transferred and, by extension, the number of high-risk multiple gestations, while maintaining or increasing pregnancy rates. Human Gametes and Preimplantation Embryos: Assessment and Diagnosis provides a broad yet concise overview of established and developing methodologies for assessment of gamete and embryo viability in assisted reproduction. This book elucidates the best practices for precisely selecting viable specimens based on morphology and cleavage rate and covers the spectrum of emerging adjunctive technologies for predicting reproductive potential. The authors present their extensive knowledge of “omics” approaches (genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics), with unbiased delineation of the associated advantages and potential pitfalls. This valuable clinical resource is well suited to infertility specialists, Ob/Gyn physicians, IVF laboratory technicians, and researchers in the fields of embryology and reproductive medicine.

Book Description :

Within twenty, maybe forty, years most people in developed countries will stop having sex for the purpose of reproduction. Instead, prospective parents will be told as much as they wish to know about the genetic makeup of dozens of embryos, and they will pick one or two for implantation, gestation, and birth. And it will be safe, lawful, and free. In this work of prophetic scholarship, Henry T. Greely explains the revolutionary biological technologies that make this future a seeming inevitability and sets out the deep ethical and legal challenges humanity faces as a result. “Readers looking for a more in-depth analysis of human genome modifications and reproductive technologies and their legal and ethical implications should strongly consider picking up Greely’s The End of Sex and the Future of Human Reproduction...[It has] the potential to empower readers to make informed decisions about the implementation of advancements in genetics technologies.” —Dov Greenbaum, Science “[Greely] provides an extraordinarily sophisticated analysis of the practical, political, legal, and ethical implications of the new world of human reproduction. His book is a model of highly informed, rigorous, thought-provoking speculation about an immensely important topic.” —Glenn C. Altschuler, Psychology Today

Book Description :

The successful achievement of pregnancies following pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) was first reported in April 1990. The technology is often used for patients who are at substantial risk of conceiving a pregnancy affected by a known genetic disorder, however from this technology other more controversial uses have arisen such as HLA typing to save the life of a sibling, gender selection for social reasons, the prevention of late onset diseases, or the prevention of diseases which may be genetically predisposed to developing such as breast cancer. The technology surrounding PGD is constantly developing, giving rise to new and unexpected consequences that create fresh ethical and legal dilemmas. Featuring internationally recognized experts in the field, this book critically explores the regulation of PGD and the broader legal and ethical issues associated with it. It looks at the regulatory situation in a number of jurisdictions including New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom, but it also explores a number of themes of wide significance including a historical consideration of PGD and its part in the creation of the "genetic embryo" as a political tool, the over regulation of PGD and the ethical difficulties in handling additional unexpected medical information yielded by new technologies. This book will be of particular interest to academics and students of law, medicine and ethics.

Book Description :

Fully revised and updated with the most current information, the third edition of this practical clinical text covers all aspects of the rapidly advancing field of preimplantation genetic testing (PGT). Although PGT has become an established procedure for genetics and assisted reproduction practices over the last decade, its wider application has occurred after the introduction of next generation technologies in the last few years, necessitating this much-needed new edition. This will include, first of all, an update on PGT accuracy, reliability and safety, to ensure improved access to PGT for those who may benefit greatly from this technology. New content will also present progress in the primary prevention of genetic disorders, which now discusses approaches for prospective identification of at-risk PGT couples through the application of the extended gene testing panels. In fact, because of dramatic technological improvements in all aspects of PGT, most of the sections have been updated, with the addition of new sections on next generation technologies and universal PGT with combined testing for single gene and chromosomal disorders, which has previously presented a challenge. The guiding PGT strategies for different genetic disorders are presented, with emphasis on the most complicated cases that might be of special utility in the wider application PGT technologies worldwide. Additionally, a new section will be devoted to borderline indications, which will include common adult-onset conditions with genetic predisposition and non-genetic indications, expanding PGT applications to heart disease and cancer and the use of PGT for stem cell transplantation treatment of genetic and acquired disorders, where unique outcome data has become available. Combining the latest research and the most cutting-edge practice, Practical Preimplantation Genetic Testing, 3e is an excellent resource for clinical reproductive medicine specialists, genetic counselors, researchers and analysts.

Book Description :

This title was first published in 2003. Assisted conception is an area where it often seems that all the ethical and legal issues have been covered and then technology advances and the discussions start all over again. The book is an anthology of papers presented during a project looking at thearaputic research in assisted conception (TRAC). It is divided into three areas addressing research, ethics and law. Each chapter begins with an overview of the issues, with the aim being to present new perspectives rather than covering old ground. The European Convention on Human rights and Biomedicine came into force on December 1, 1999. The Convention allows thearaputic research and research on spare embryos but forbid fundamental research, which may be essential to the safe development of new techniques. This also means that people may become part of an experimental process without their consent. The project brings together clinicians, embryologists, lawyers and ethicists to ascertain whether there might be a risk of infertility patients being exposed to insufficiently tested procedures and to see if there is a need for fundamental research in this area. It also looks at the legislative safeguards that exist and whether a European standard for treatment should be set.

Book Description :

Scientific facts can be so complicated that only specialists in a field fully appreciate the details, but the nature of everyday practice that gives rise to these facts should be understandable by everyone interested in science. This book describes how scientists bring their own interests and passions to their work, illustrates the dynamics between researchers and the research community, and emphasizes a contextual understanding of science in place of the linear model found in textbooks with its singular focus on "scientific method." Everyday Practice of Science also introduces readers to issues about science and society. Practice requires value judgments: What should be done? Who should do it? Who should pay for it? How much? Balancing scientific opportunities with societal needs depends on appreciating both the promises and the ambiguities of science. Understanding practice informs discussions about how to manage research integrity, conflict of interest, and the challenge of modern genetics to human research ethics. Society cannot have the benefits of research without the risks. The last chapter contrasts the practices of science and religion as reflective of two different types of faith and describes a holistic framework within which they dynamically interact.

Book Description :

Intended for readers with a background in fertility medicine as well as those less familiar with IVF, this comprehensive work presents an update on preimplantation genetic testing to enable single embryo transfer (SET). An international cast of contributors explains the treatment sequence—from ovulation induction to luteal support—aiming to transfer only one euploid embryo. Applications of molecular techniques for gamete and embryo assessment are fully detailed, with a focus on the strengths and limitations of each. In addition, expert commentary is shared across a range of regulatory challenges associated with embryo screening and cryopreservation. As access to advanced reproductive technology increases against a sharper background of healthcare reform, clinicians, economists, bioethicists and legislators alike will find this new volume relevant and highly accessible.

Book Description :

Human Reproductive Genetics: Emerging Technologies and Clinical Applications presents a great reference for clinicians and researchers in reproductive medicine. Part I includes a brief background of genetics and epigenetics, probability of disease, and the different techniques that are being used today for analysis and genetic counseling. Part II focuses on the analysis of the embryo, current controversies and future concepts. Part III comprises different clinical scenarios that clinicians frequently face in practice. The increasing amount of genetic tests available and the growing information that patients handle makes this section a relevant part of the fertility treatment discussion. Finally, Part IV concludes with the psychological aspects of genetic counseling and the role of counselor and bioethics in human reproduction. Provides an essential reference for clinicians involved in reproductive medicine Builds foundational knowledge on new genetic tests coming into the clinical scenario for physicians involved with patients Assembles critically evaluated chapters that cover basic concepts of genetics and epigenetics and the techniques involved, including preimplantation genetic testing, controversies, and more

Book Description :

Recent advances in genomic and omics analysis have triggered a revolution affecting nearly every field of medicine, including reproductive medicine, obstetrics, gynecology, andrology, and infertility treatment. Reproductomics: The –Omics Revolution and Its Impact on Human Reproductive Medicine demonstrates how various omics technologies are already aiding fertility specialists and clinicians in characterizing patients, counseling couples towards pregnancy success, informing embryo selection, and supporting many other positive outcomes. A diverse range of chapters from international experts examine the complex relationship between genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics and their role in human reproduction, identifying molecular factors of clinical significance. With this book Editors Jaime Gosálvez and José A. Horcajadas have provided researchers and clinicians with a strong foundation for a new era of personalized reproductive medicine. Thoroughly discusses how genomics and other omics approaches aid clinicians in various areas of reproductive medicine Identifies specific genomic and molecular factors of translational value in treating infertility and analyzing patient data Features chapter contributions by leading international experts