IVF NewsAnnouncement: MSc in Clinical Embryology: Final deadline for entry in October 2022
Laura Rose 07 July 2022
The final closing date for applications for the MSc in Clinical Embryology course starting in October 2022 is 12 noon BST (UK time) on Friday 15th July 2022. This one year, residential, taught MSc provides graduate students, scientists and clinicians with highly advanced theoretical and practical understanding of human reproductive biology, embryology, infertility and assisted reproductive technology (ART) along with intensive ‘hands-on’ practical training in essential laboratory skills and the sophisticated gamete micromanipulation techniques associated with ART. The department's aim is to inspire, motivate and train a network of future leaders in clinical embryology throughout the world. For details of how apply including the admissions criteria please see our admissions page: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/msc-clinical-embryology For further information please contact the Course Administrator: [email protected] Follow us on Twitter: @Ox_MSc_ClinEmb Photographs: © Medical Sciences Division and John Cairns [ Full Article ]  
News: ART & Embryology training program
CHENNAI FERTILITY CENTER AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE 04 July 2022
August 2022 Training Batch Schedule - 1st August - 13th August 2022 The International School of Embryology was established to offer training for clinicians in advanced reproductive technologies. Our skill and precision to all aspirants help them to know in-depth knowledge and experience. The members of our teaching faculty aim to bring doctors and embryologists to the highest level of knowledge about reproductive techniques and practical capability in the field. Our courses cover basics in Andrology, embryology, ICSI, and cryosciences (Hands-on). Limited Seats. For admission Contact 9003111598 / 8428278218 [ Full Article ]
News: IVF LAB Set-Up, Lab Procurement, Basic to Advanced Embryology - Embryo Culture, ICSI, Cryobiology & QA/QC
Dr. Prof (Col) Pankaj Talwar VSM 04 July 2022
𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙊𝙥𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙎𝙚𝙥. 2022 𝙗𝙖𝙩𝙘𝙝!! 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙨 𝙖𝙫𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙘𝙪𝙢 𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨. 𝙍𝙚𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙏𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮! Course 01- IVF LAB Set-Up, Lab Procurement, Basic to Advanced Embryology - Embryo Culture, ICSI, Cryobiology & QA/QC
Course Highlights:- 45+ 𝙝𝙧𝙨 𝙊𝙣𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 LIVE Classes + Recorded Video Links. Extensive Reading Material. Certification at the end of the Course. 18+ 𝙝𝙧𝙨 𝙀𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙃𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙊𝙣 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙞𝙣 𝙄𝙑𝙁 𝙇𝘼𝘽 & 𝙊𝙏 Complete Hand Holding 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙤, 𝙥𝙡𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙛𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙘𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙊𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙤𝙥 𝙖 𝙒𝙝𝙖𝙩𝙨𝘼𝙥𝙥 𝙤𝙣 :- https://wa.me/918287883005 Team i-Ceat [ Full Article ]
News: Husband can use embryo created with late wife, court rules
Catherine Turnbull 30 June 2022
A UK widower has won the legal right to use the last remaining embryo that he made with his late wife in a landmark legal case. Between 2013 and 2018, Ted Jennings and his wife Fern-Maria Choya underwent four rounds of IVF, producing embryos at a fertility clinic in London. After Choya's death in 2019, Jennings wished to use their last remaining frozen embryo to have a child via surrogacy, but because Choya had not provided written consent for posthumous surrogacy before her death, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) could not approve the use of the embryo. Mrs Justice Theis, ruling in the High Court of Justice, Family division, said that Choya '…had not been given relevant information and/or a sufficient opportunity to discuss it with the clinic,' with regards to posthumous surrogacy, and '…that if that opportunity had been given, that consent by that person would have been provided in writing'. Due to the couples' experience with infertility, Jennings' and Choya's family both agreed that the outcome is what Choya would have wanted in the event of her death. Jennings' lawyer, James Lawford Davies, a partner at Hill Dickinson law firm, said: 'I am delighted that the court has found in Ted's favour and that he can now proceed with surrogacy treatment. It was clear that this is what Fern would have wanted and this very thorough judgment allows her wishes to be respected'. Justice Theis further concluded that the HFEA should review its consent forms with regards to a death of a partner and should clarify what the outcome would be for any remaining embryos. This is the first case of posthumous surrogacy in the UK where the father has been granted legal permission to use any embryos made with his deceased partner's egg. New research carried out by Ipsos and commissioned by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), the charity that publishes BioNews, investigated the opinion of UK adults on issues including posthumous conception. Sixty percent of respondents agreed that it should be permissible for a deceased person's frozen egg or sperm to be used by their partner to establish a pregnancy. Overall, the responses varied significantly in terms of age, gender or region but the '…support for posthumous conception was strongest when the person wishing to conceive was the husband, wife or partner of the deceased.' Sources and References
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News: Fibrosis drugs reverse ovarian ageing in mice
Dr Rachel Montgomery 30 June 2022
Ovarian ageing in mice has been shown to be reversible using compounds that target fibrosis and promote mitochondrial health. Scientists in Australia have discovered that as mice age they show increased levels of ovarian fibrosis, caused by mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and excess collagen accumulation. In turn, these changes stiffen the architecture of the ovaries and impair ovulation – leading to reduced fertility. They suggest that this mechanism may explain why fertility in women can decline in their 30s, long before menopause. 'One challenge we faced was convincing our clinical colleagues that ovarian fibrosis (the excess inflammation and collagen) could actually be preventing egg release from ovaries' said study leader Professor Rebecca Robker from the University of Adelaide, Australia. 'Currently, clinical treatments for triggering ovulation in women involve administering very high doses of hormones to make the egg-containing follicles grow and mature, and the search for new therapies has been all about finding new hormones or treatment protocols to stimulate these follicles.' The research, published in Science Advances, showed that fibrosis was already widespread in the ovaries of 12-month-old mice (corresponding to about 35 human years), which is considerably earlier than previously thought. Obese mice also had increased levels of ovarian fibrosis and exhibited a loss of fertility comparable to the aged mice. The researchers found that using drugs to target ovarian fibrosis – including those that improve mitochondrial function and reduce inflammation – improved ovulation rates. This is the first study to identify non-hormonal methods to improve ovarian function, although the findings still need to be replicated in humans. Reflecting on the results, Professor Robker said 'there is likely to be a treatment for ovarian fibrosis in the foreseeable future' but cautioned that a non-invasive way to diagnose ovarian fibrosis is needed to identify patients who could benefit. 'Women are increasingly wanting to have children later in their reproductive life, and enhancing the function of the ovaries at that time would be valuable,' commented Professor Richard Anderson from the MRC Centre for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, who was not involved in the study. 'There are lots of questions about whether this [research] might be relevant to women, but we do know that older human ovaries have more collagen, and that this can affect egg development in human ovaries as well as in mice.' Sources and References
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News: UK report reveals public attitudes to fertility, genomics and embryo research
Joseph Hamilton 30 June 2022
Discrepancies between public opinion and real-world access to fertility services in the UK have been highlighted by research commissioned by the Progress Educational Trust (PET). Ipsos surveyed 2233 individuals and found that 67 percent of respondents supported access to fertility treatments, such as IVF, via the NHS. This is in contrast to the actual availability of these services, as many women under 40 are not offered the three cycles of IVF recommended by the National Institute for Care and Health Excellence. Often those seeking fertility treatments are instead subject to the 'postcode lottery', an economic and region-dependent barrier to access. Speaking about the results of the survey, Sarah Norcross, director of PET, said: 'The commissioning of fertility services needs to catch up with public opinion. These survey results send a strong message to Government, NHS England and commissioning bodies to take action. Infertility is not a lifestyle choice nor a luxury, it is a recognised medical condition that impacts people's physical and mental well-being, affecting not just the individual or couple but their wider family.' The research also provided more detailed insight into attitudes to fertility access, indicating that only 28 percent of respondents believed same-sex couples should have access to NHS-funded fertility treatment. This dropped to 19 percent when the prospective parent was transgender. Compared with support for access for infertile heterosexual couples (49 percent), this suggests a continuing bias towards traditional family structures. The research discovered that 75 percent of respondents were willing to donate sperm or eggs in certain circumstances. Clare Ettinghausen, director of strategy and corporate affairs for the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, said that 'whilst the use of donor eggs and sperm increased from 2019 to 2020, the number of donor registrations decreased during this period. It's therefore reassuring to see PET's findings which suggest that over half of men surveyed would consider donation.' When it comes to editing the genomes of embryos in a treatment context, 53 percent of respondents agreed with this when the aim was to eliminate severe or life-threatening conditions (eg, cystic fibrosis). Although global outrage was sparked in 2018, by He Jiankui editing the genomes of babies in China, it is interesting to note that UK perceptions are still rather positive. However, PET says in its report that any future medical applications must be carried out 'in a scientifically and ethically rigorous way'. The research comes at a time of likely policy reform in this area, with the upcoming Women's Health Strategy for England in the immediate term, and key pieces of UK legislation expected to be reviewed in the longer term. The complete report is available online: Fertility, Genomics and Embryo Research: Public Attitudes and Understanding. Sources and References
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Announcement: I3 100th Session - Special Networking Event
International IVF Initiative 25 June 2022
Starts 28th June 12 noon EST/ 6pm UK/ 6pm CET/ 9.30pm India. Ends 8pm EST (28th) / 10am AEST (29th) Watch the video above to learn how to navigate our world. A chance to network and speak to the "Legacy" team of embryology training schools.
Rooms available throughout the whole of the summit:
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News: US Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v Wade abortion law would endanger IVF
Javier Bautista 25 June 2022
Changes to US abortion law could have wide-ranging impacts on fertility treatment including IVF and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD). The 1973 'Roe v Wade' case established abortion as a constitutional right, however, the current Supreme Court has been discussing overturning this decision, which would allow individual states to restrict or ban abortion. Several states have 'trigger laws' in place that would come into effect immediately if Roe v Wade is overturned, and some of these confer rights or personhood onto embryos or fetuses. 'If Roe v. Wade is overturned, trigger laws can go into effect immediately that recognise an embryo as a person – [and] if a fertilised egg is considered a person, anti-abortion laws could make it illegal to discard embryos,' Dr Lucky Sekhon, a New York-based infertility specialist told Forbes. Standard IVF protocol involves collecting and fertilising as many egg as possible, to maximise the number of healthy embryos. These can then be transferred to the uterus ideally one at a time, and the others are frozen for use in future transfers or for subsequent pregnancies. If embryos are granted legal rights, there may be opposition to allowing any fertilised eggs to be stored or discarded, meaning that eggs will have to be frozen and then fertilised in small batches, which is likely to be less efficient and more expensive for patients. Preimplantation genetic testing may also be affected if discarding the aneuploid embryos or those carrying harmful mutations is prevented. This could leave families who need PGT-M to avoid passing on serious genetic conditions with few options. Finally, embryo freezing could also be affected. Some states may try to ban any process deemed 'harmful' to the embryo once it is created – including freezing as a small proportion (less than five percent) of embryos do not survive freezing and thawing. 'This can lead to transferring all of the embryos created at the same time, which increases the chance of having multiples (twins, triplets, quadruplets or more), which are high-risk pregnancies,' obstetrician gynaecologist Dr Heather Irobunda told Forbes. The result is likely to be more patients travelling to states without these laws for fertility treatment and facing increased costs and inconvenience as a result. Sources and References
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News: Whole exome sequencing of mother could predict risk of creating embryos with aneuploidy
Dr Malena Daich Varela 25 June 2022
Variants in three genes have been linked to an increased risk of a woman creating aneuploid embryos while undergoing IVF and used to create a risk score using machine learning. Embryonic aneuploidy describes an embryo with an abnormal number of chromosomes. This abnormality can lead to increased risk of miscarriage. The risk of producing aneuploid embryos increases with older maternal age as the eggs are more likely to be aneuploid. However, little is known about the cause of egg aneuploidy so researchers designed a study to determine if studying the genome of the mother could help indicate the risk of embryonic aneuploidy. Knowing this could help couples determine their chances of successful IVF with their own eggs, authors of the paper published in Human Genetics argued. Dr Jinchuan Xing, research lead author and associate professor at the Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences, New Brunswick, New Jersey, said: 'The goal of our project was to understand the genetic cause of female infertility and develop a method to improve clinical prognosis of patients' aneuploidy risk. Based on our work, we showed that the risk of embryonic aneuploidy in female IVF patients can be predicted with high accuracy with the patients' genomic data. We also have identified several potential aneuploidy risk genes.' First, researchers analysed the rate of embryo aneuploidy in women undergoing IVF in order to determine their individual risk. They selected 281 women of European ancestry from two genomic datasets. They then them into two groups: a low rate group if they had less than 30 percent rate of aneuploidy in their embryos and a high rate group if it was over 50 percent. Then they analysed the women's genomic data to determine whether there were any genetic variants linked to a higher risk of creating embryos with aneuploidy. This flagged up 23 genes associated with meiosis, which researchers used to develop a risk score for embryonic aneuploidy. They then developed machine learning models to test whether or not presence of these genetic variants could be used to determine unseen women's risk of creating embryos with aneuploidy using a different cohort to test their model. Variants on three genes MCM5, FGGY, and DDX60L were found to contribute the most to the model's predictive power, and could be used as future targets in diagnostic or therapeutic approaches. Researchers said the risk score could be more useful than just looking at maternal age, as aneuploidy rates can vary considerably between individuals. 'I like to think of the coming era of genetic medicine when a woman can enter a doctor's office or, in this case, perhaps, a fertility clinic with her genomic information, and have a better sense of how to approach treatment. Our work will enable such a future.' Dr Xing said. Sources and References
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News: COVID-19 vaccines do not induce autoimmune reaction that causes infertility
Semyon Bodian 25 June 2022
Neither mRNA nor inactivated virus COVID-19 vaccines cause changes to syncytin-1 antibody levels in women of reproductive age, researchers at Yale School of Medicine, Connecticut, have shown. Claims made online that COVID-19 vaccines could affect fertility due to the induction of syncytin-1 antibodies, which inhibit placental formation, have been blamed for low vaccine uptake rates among pregnant women. Now a study designed specifically to tackle this claim has found no difference in syncytin-1 antibody levels in women who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 compared to those that had not. 'The findings provide further evidence that existing mRNA vaccines are safe for pregnant women and those planning to become pregnant' said Professor Akiko Iwasaki, Sterling professor of immunobiology and of molecular, cellular and developmental biology at Yale University Claims that COVID-19 vaccination could cause an immune reaction against syncytin-1, a protein responsible for placenta formation during embryo formation, originally appeared after a letter was sent to the European Medicines Agency asking it to stop emergency authorisation of mRNA vaccines. It included an assertation that there was no evidence that antibodies against spike proteins, which might be structurally similar to syncytin-1 antibodies, wouldn't impair the formation of the placenta and prevent pregnancy. To examine this claim Professor Iwasaki and her group compared the levels of syncytin-1 antibodies in two independent cohorts of women under the age of 60: one group vaccinated with Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna mRNA vaccines or the CoronaVac inactivated virus vaccine, and the other unvaccinated. They measured syncytin-1 antibodies before vaccination, between vaccines and after vaccination. No elevated levels of the antibody were observed in the vaccinated women compared to those unvaccinated. To counter claims the COVID-19 vaccine can affect fetal development, the authors compared the size, weight and presence of congenital defects of mice born to female mice vaccinated early on in their pregnancy, with those born to unvaccinated mothers. No overt maternal illnesses were observed in either the vaccinated or unvaccinated mice while there were no discernable differences in fetal size and weight of mice born to vaccinated or unvaccinated mothers. These findings backed-up existing evidence showing the COVID-19 vaccine has no effect on fertility or miscarriage rates. 'Unvaccinated pregnant women are at increased risk for severe consequences of COVID-19 infections, including hospitalisation and intensive care stays than unvaccinated pregnant women, and face increased risk of delivering a preterm or stillborn infant.' Professor Iwasaki said. Sources and References
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