The document describes the process of embryo harvesting and freezing. It takes 4-6 weeks and involves hormone injections and egg retrieval procedures. Mature eggs are removed through the vagina using sedation. The eggs are then dehydrated and frozen using an anti-freeze solution to prevent ice crystal formation. While this process allows people to have babies through other means, there are also various social, ethical, and legal concerns such as the commercialization of body parts, determining parental rights, and religious views that see it as against natural sexuality.
2. PROCESS DESCRIPTION
• Process takes 4-6 weeks to freeze (Vutyavanich,
et al. 2010)
• During 2-4 weeks there is hormone injection and
use of birth control pills
• Then a 10-14 days of hormone injections to
ripen eggs in the ovary (Vutyavanich, et al.
2010).
• Mature eggs are removed through vagina done
by intravenous sedation
• Cell is first dehydrated and the water replaced
with special anti freeze that inhibits formation of
ice crystals (Vutyavanich, et al. 2010)
3. SOCIAL IMPACTS
• Benefited women with dilemma on family or
career, and those with ailments (Wyns, et al.
2010)
• Given couples ways to have babies
• Ethical concerns on the effectiveness
• Human dignity concerns
• Legal concerns: Lack of policies to govern the
practice
• Problems with the death of the donor has
caused social concerns
4. Morals and Norms
• Religion has questioned the practice in that it
goes against religious teachings
• People see it as a natural deviation from
sexuality
• Exploitation of the people from the technology
• legal ban on posthumous reproduction
• Commercialization of the technology where
people may start selling body parts (Wyns, et al.
2010)
• The actual parental ownership of the child
reproduced
• Lack of donors due to cultural limits and taboos
5. REFERENCES
• ASRM, (2004). Ovarian tissue and oocyte cryopreservation.
Practice Committee. Fertil. Steril. 82(4):993-998
• Isachenko, V., Lapidus, I., Isachenko, E. (2009). "Human
ovarian tissue vitrification versus conventional freezing:
morphological, endocrinological, and molecular biological
evaluation.". Reproduction 138 (2): 319–27
• Vutyavanich, T., Piromlertamorn, W., Nunta, S. (2010). "Rapid
freezing versus slow programmable freezing of human
spermatozoa". Fertil. Steril. 93 (6): 1921–8
• Wyns, C., Curaba, M., Vanabelle, B., Van Langendonckt, A.,
Donnez, J. (2010). "Options for fertility preservation in
prepubertal boys". Human Reproduction, Update 16 (3):
312–28
Editor's Notes
It has been difficult to freeze eggs because egg is the largest human cell in human body that contains considerable amounts of water thus freezing process can cause the ice crystal to destroy the cell. The cell is therefore dehydrated first and the water replaced with special anti freeze that inhibits formation of ice crystals. It takes an approximate of four to six weeks for a complete cycle of egg freezing process which normally follows similar protocol as that of in vitro fertilization (IVF). During this time (2-4 weeks) self admitted hormone injections and birth control pills are used to turn off natural hormones then followed by 10-14 days of hormonal injection to stimulate ripening of multiple eggs in the ovaries. Matured eggs are removed through the vagina using ultra sound guided needle a procedure done under intravenous sedation hence not painful. Immediately after which the egg is frozen and when an embryo is desired the eggs are then thawed, injected with a single sperm in order to achieve fertilization and then transferred to the uterus as embryos. The process of egg freezing has several clinical implicates which include the following: creation of effective donor egg banks that allows responsible quarantine of the donated material, reduced costs of egg donation and finally a routine in ovary biopsy is made available for women of reproductive age who are about to undergo some detrimental form of treatment or even those who wish to some their young egg for future use. Therefore the procedure will allow crypto preservation of such tissue for future resuscitation through grafting in to the body or e growth outside the body.
The procedure is beneficial to women who still have pressure in having to chose between family and career, women diagnosed with cancer which often involve treatment by chemotherapy and radiation that leads infertility and finally to individuals who have religious as well as moral objections to storage of frozen embryos. Ethical dilemmas that arise in the egg freezing is the fact that the art and nature of collecting of oocytes from some patients of cancer and leukemia require a delay in the life saving treatment which right is unethically correct as it puts the life of the patient at greater risks. Also the procedure of egg freezing has some ethical issues that affect both adults and adolescents engaging in the procedure for instance issues regarding introduction of cancer cells which night b ere introduced in the transplantation and treatment, prevention of crypto preserved oocytes from being fertilized and implanted, seeking of consents from the parents, protection of patients future rights to her gametes, means of deposition of gametes upon death of the patients an finally respect of the patient by protecting her from harm which at same time honoring her to her rights of self-determination. Ethical issues have arisen regarding the chances that freezing process can result to genetic alteration which might result to abnormities in the individuals developed from such eggs. Also there has bee an uproar on the methods in which the eggs that are not required for the process will be disposed as they are considered a living human being. In addition to that there are ethical concerns regarding harvesting of eggs from socially unacceptable sources like from executed prisoners or even from dead bodies and aborted fetuses which are argued will encourage abortion and executions. The process will also impacts on the natural role that human being play regarding procreation as father roles will be unnecessary and fatherless children will be born resulting loss of human dignity in the society through lost identity. Women opting to the process will be single mother’s implying that they will bring up children under single parent hood which is contrary to societal norms. Morally the process will be faulty as disposal of the unviable fertilized eggs is viewed as killing of human being considering that many belief that life begins at conception.
The world has already been accustomed to some norms and to change these norms is mainly countered with opposition. Thus this technology will be greatly questioned on moral and social grounds. Religion will be first to voice its concern seeing it as a way to replace the natural family set up which means it goes against their teachings. Sexuality is also valued in society and this will be much contested since it is a way to replace sexual activity. The technology may also be very expensive that it is not developed for the poor this means it will be exploiting the poor and discriminatory. Commercialising the trade means that it will make the technology be developed to trade in body parts that is very lucrative, though this is against human principles. The parental ownership of the child is also contested since it will be difficult to claim the child for the father also the donor may die thus creating controversy on the father or who to carry the embryo later on.
