Mums
sue MD for "wrongful life" baby
CANBERRA — An Australian lesbian couple is suing
their fertility specialist over the conception of twin
girls instead of the one baby they wanted. The women
— who say they were "devastated" by the twins —
say they asked Dr Robert Armellin to only implant one
embryo but he implanted two without their permission.
They are suing him for $400,000 AUD (about $350,000
Canadian) for the cost of raising one of the girls until
the age of 21. The case has sparked outrage in the country.
"A healthy baby is not a damage," fumed Dr Andrew Foote,
president of the Canberra-area branch of the Australian
Medical Association.
Laparoscopy
kills endometriosis
MONTREAL — Laparoscopic surgery for moderate and
severe endometriosis is the best treatment to preserve
fertility, says a Belgian study presented September
18 at the 14th World Congress on In Vitro Fertilization
in Montreal. Fifty percent of patients end up conceiving
naturally after surgery, the study reports. And docs
get a two-for-one deal, since they can diagnose and
treat at the same time with laparoscopy. All endometrial
lesions have to be destroyed, insists lead author Dr
Jacques Donnez, but there's a risk of removing too much
tissue. "Surgeons are too often very aggressive with
the ovaries of the patient, which causes premature ovarian
failure." For large endometriomas, a combo surgery of
excision and laser ablation is best, he adds.
Older
men's sperm fertile but slow
MONTREAL — Sperm motility drops off as men get
older, yet fertilization rates and embryo quality following
intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) aren't affected,
a group of Brazilian researchers found. ICSI is normally
used when problems like motility impede typical IVF.
The study provides one explanation why male fertility
declines with age. However, using ICSI to overcome motility
problems doesn't safeguard against other possible age-related
sperm problems, such as DNA fragmentation.
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