Life to be easier for IVF mums
THE heartache aspiring parents must endure during multiple IVF cycles could soon be over.
New technology could lift conception rates.
For thousands of couples, in vitro fertilisation restores to them the chance to have children, but it can be long, expensive and traumatic.
A recent study showed it cost women under 30 an average of $25,000 to have a baby using IVF. That rose to $183,000 for women over 42.
Kailing Wang, chief scientific officer of biotechnology company Life Therapeutics, said it had developed cell separation technology.
Their "sperm sorter" is able to isolate healthy sperm, significantly increasing the chances of conception.
"The most important feature of our technology is its ability to isolate the most healthy sperm, with minimal DNA damage and cellular contamination, in a matter of minutes," Dr Wang said.
"This is revolutionary for fertility treatment."
To get the healthy sperm, samples are placed in a separation chamber that has an electric field.
Healthy sperm are more negatively charged, and will be attracted to the positive electrodes. The unhealthy sperm will be isolated by their slower "electrophoretic mobility".
"Our technology is very applicable to all types of patient samples, including those who suffer from infertility problems," Dr Wang said.
"This technology produces better-quality sperm and enhances the success rate of reproductive treatment."
Clinical trials of the sperm sorter are expected to be held at the Westmead Fertility Centre in April next year.
Dr Steven Fleming, from the centre, said he was seeking approval for the year-long trial.
It would answer questions such as whether the new technology would make it cheaper for couples using IVF.
"I'm hoping that it's going to dispense with what I've often described as dinosaur technology," Dr Fleming said.
"(It could) speed up what we do, simplify what we do, reduce the risk inherent in what we do -- and all of those factors combined would be a significant step forward."
The Australian Medical Association's spokesman for obstetricians and gynaecology, Andrew Pesce, said he hoped the new technology would help women avoid some of the psychological traumas and stresses of IVF.
"IVF completely dominates your life for several months. Anything, if it works, would be good," Dr Pesce said.
CHANNEL TEN newsreader Tracey Spicer has spoken out about the heartbreak of infertility, warning women: "Don't leave it too late."
Spicer, 38, told Woman's Day she was desperate to have a child with her husband, Jason Thompson, but time and biology was working against her.
"I'm 38, and the quintessential career girl who nearly left it too late.
"It took us five years to conceive, and once I did finally get pregnant there were lots of complications," she tells Woman's Day in today's edition.
"Look, you may think at 33 that you're quite young, but I'm afraid that in some cases that's not young enough. I would urge women who do want a family not to leave it too late. We forget that having a child is a miracle."
Spicer and Thompson's son, Taj Jack Thompson, was born last January.
New technology could lift conception rates.
For thousands of couples, in vitro fertilisation restores to them the chance to have children, but it can be long, expensive and traumatic.
A recent study showed it cost women under 30 an average of $25,000 to have a baby using IVF. That rose to $183,000 for women over 42.
Kailing Wang, chief scientific officer of biotechnology company Life Therapeutics, said it had developed cell separation technology.
Their "sperm sorter" is able to isolate healthy sperm, significantly increasing the chances of conception.
"The most important feature of our technology is its ability to isolate the most healthy sperm, with minimal DNA damage and cellular contamination, in a matter of minutes," Dr Wang said.
"This is revolutionary for fertility treatment."
To get the healthy sperm, samples are placed in a separation chamber that has an electric field.
Healthy sperm are more negatively charged, and will be attracted to the positive electrodes. The unhealthy sperm will be isolated by their slower "electrophoretic mobility".
"Our technology is very applicable to all types of patient samples, including those who suffer from infertility problems," Dr Wang said.
"This technology produces better-quality sperm and enhances the success rate of reproductive treatment."
Clinical trials of the sperm sorter are expected to be held at the Westmead Fertility Centre in April next year.
Dr Steven Fleming, from the centre, said he was seeking approval for the year-long trial.
It would answer questions such as whether the new technology would make it cheaper for couples using IVF.
"I'm hoping that it's going to dispense with what I've often described as dinosaur technology," Dr Fleming said.
"(It could) speed up what we do, simplify what we do, reduce the risk inherent in what we do -- and all of those factors combined would be a significant step forward."
The Australian Medical Association's spokesman for obstetricians and gynaecology, Andrew Pesce, said he hoped the new technology would help women avoid some of the psychological traumas and stresses of IVF.
"IVF completely dominates your life for several months. Anything, if it works, would be good," Dr Pesce said.
CHANNEL TEN newsreader Tracey Spicer has spoken out about the heartbreak of infertility, warning women: "Don't leave it too late."
Spicer, 38, told Woman's Day she was desperate to have a child with her husband, Jason Thompson, but time and biology was working against her.
"I'm 38, and the quintessential career girl who nearly left it too late.
"It took us five years to conceive, and once I did finally get pregnant there were lots of complications," she tells Woman's Day in today's edition.
"Look, you may think at 33 that you're quite young, but I'm afraid that in some cases that's not young enough. I would urge women who do want a family not to leave it too late. We forget that having a child is a miracle."
Spicer and Thompson's son, Taj Jack Thompson, was born last January.
posted by Volatto at 6:17 AM
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