Assisted reproductive technology facts for kids
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) includes medical procedures used primarily to address infertility. When used to address infertility, ART may also be referred to as fertility treatment. ART mainly belongs to the field of reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Some forms of ART may be used with regard to fertile couples for genetic purpose (see preimplantation genetic diagnosis). ART may also be used in surrogacy arrangements, although not all surrogacy arrangements involve ART. The existence of sterility will not always require ART to be the first option to consider, as there are occasions when its cause is a mild disorder that can be solved with more conventional treatments or with behaviors based on promoting health and reproductive habits.
Ethics
Some couples may find it difficult to stop treatment despite very bad prognosis, resulting in futile therapies. This has the potential to give ART providers a difficult decision of whether to continue or refuse treatment.
Some assisted reproductive technologies have the potential to be harmful to both the mother and child, posing a psychological and/or physical health risk, which may impact the ongoing use of these treatments.
Historical facts
25 July 1978, Louise Brown was born; this was the first successful birth of a child after IVF treatment. The procedure took place at Dr Kershaw's Cottage Hospital (now Dr Kershaw's Hospice) in Royton, Oldham, England. Patrick Steptoe (gynaecologist) and Robert Edwards (physiologist) worked together to develop the IVF technique. Steptoe described a new method of egg extraction and Edwards were carrying out a way to fertilise eggs in the lab. Robert G. Edwards was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2010, but not Steptoe because the Nobel Prize is not awarded posthumously.
See also
In Spanish: Reproducción asistida para niños
