Global BC Senior Investigative Reporter Lynn Colliar has put together an extensive series called Baby Formula, highlighting new, cutting-edge and in some cases controversial treatments available to help women get pregnant. Airing this week on the News Hour, Lynn’s informative series focuses on the science involved in these procedures, the stringent government restrictions some procedures are up against, and the touching stories from couples willing to spend tens-of-thousands just to start a family.
The series is as follows:
Mon, Feb 28: In Vitro Fertilization (IVF): Since the first successful birth in 1978, IVF has become one of the major methods available to help women become pregnant when all others have failed. Lynn’s story focuses on where IVF is today, and what new technologies are helping refine this method. Success rates for IVF now are seven-times better than they were a few years ago. Lynn also examines who’s getting IVF, why they are getting it, and what this process entails.
Links:
Pacific Centre for Reproductive Medicine
Tues, Mar 1: Egg Donation: For women who have unsuccessfully gone through the IVF process, but still want to get pregnant, a next step might be to try and conceive using a donor egg. In Canada though, it is illegal to anonymously donate eggs or to pay to receive eggs from an egg bank or donor. Canadians can receive eggs from consenting donors they know. Lynn speaks with a woman in her mid “˜40s who received a donated egg from the daughter of a family friend. Canadian couples who can’t find an egg donor are forced to leave the country. We visit a Seattle clinic with an egg donor bank.
Links:
Seattle Clinic – Pacific Northwest Fertility
Wed, Mar 2: Genetic Screening: When thinking of genetic screening, it’s hard not to think of the controversies associated with creating so-called “˜designer babies’. For couples who know they carry a genetic disease, this procedure is not about cosmetic vanity, it’s about saving their offspring from a lifetime of having to cope with potentially debilitating diseases like cystic fibrosis, and Huntington’s Disease. Lynn profiles a couple who underwent this process as the father was diagnosed with Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. What’s most amazing to this story is that the week the wife gave birth to twins, the husband was undergoing a heart transplant at the same Vancouver hospital.
Thurs, Mar 3: Egg Freezing: More and more women are choosing to forego having children in favour of building careers, but as women age, their fertility level drops. At 36, this level plummets. One option in existence is for women to have their eggs frozen. Only 1,000 babies throughout the world have been born from frozen eggs. This option is also available to women undergoing chemotherapy (which renders many women sterile). As more and more women decide to have babies at a later age, the social demand for this process could grow.
Fri, Mar 4: The Politics of Assisted Reproduction: On December 22, 2010, the Canadian Federal government decided that issues associated with assisted reproduction would become a provincial responsibility, meaning provinces would be responsible for funding and subsidization. However, many provinces do not have systems in place to deal with these costs.
Currently, IVF in Canada can cost $10,000 – $15,000, with many couples taking out second mortgages just to afford the procedure. As a result of the price, many couples are opting for multiple egg transfers to increase their chances. This is leading to a greater frequency of twins, which leads to greater risk during pregnancy and higher delivery costs. Quebec is the only province funding IVF in Canada, and in an effort to keep costs down, are only doing single-egg transfers. Lynn speaks to B.C. health minister Colin Hansen about Quebec’s cost-saving measures, and what B.C. is doing to help those looking into IVF.
Links:
Assisted Human Reproduction Canada
Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health
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