Making Babies? An IVF Primer

Blog, uncategorized / /

D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A.

Executive Director

The first successful in vitro (in glass) fertilization (IVF) resulted in the birth of Louise Joy Brown in 1978 in England. Here is a brief account of that event.

Cambridge embryologist Robert Edwards gave a frank interview with The Times‘ reporter Anjana Ahjuga 25 years after the birth of Louise Brown. Edwards said, “The Vatican called Louise’s birth ‘an event that can have very grave consequences for humanity’ because it divorced the conjugal sexual act from procreation.” Edwards is quoted further:

“It was a fantastic achievement but it was about more than infertility,” ...read more

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What Is a SHEEF, and Why Should We Care?

Blog, Emerging Technologies, Stem Cell Research, United States / /

D. Joy Riley, M.D., M.A. Executive Director

Human embryo research has long been guided by what is known as the “14-day rule.” That is, various nations have allowed research on embryos up to 14 days post fertilization. The 14-day rule was put in place ostensibly in order to avoid causing pain for the developing embryo. The primitive streak — the first visible evidence of gastrulation and the formation of differentiated tissues in the embryo — appears at about day 15 after fertilization. (See video at the bottom of this post for more information.)

When the 14-day rule was put in place, laboratories were ...read more

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