More Economics

It turns out that Akeeyu wrote the initial post about Dr. Spar that I was thinking of. Thanks for reminding me, Akeeyu! Would you believe I actually did look over your recent blog posts, more than once even, but just didn't see it?

And in related news, Dr. Spar has given an interview on Bloomberg. Beth (fka "Prop Your Hips Up") has written up a post on this interview, so I won't deal with it at length here. I just feel the need to make a few snide points about this exchange:

Interviewer: What's going to be possible in five or 10 years?

Dr. Spar: First of all, the technology is just becoming better so there are people who have more and more advanced cases of infertility that will be treated successfully with IVF, with a technology called ICSI (intracytoplasmic sperm injection), which basically allows sterile men to produce children by taking a single sperm (and injecting it directly into the egg).

What's really going to come across is genetic engineering. We now have a growing business and technology for couples to take the embryos they produce at the eight-cell stage, to take one cell out of that embryo, to analyze it for genetic flaws and then choose which of the embryos to implant. It's very easy to see the potential for what some people have called the "genetic supermarket."

Some uses of this technology are nothing short of miraculous. People who carry genes for things like Tay-Sachs or cystic fibrosis can select for healthy embryos. Where we get worried is when people start using the same technology to produce blond-haired babies or blue-eyed babies.

POINT: If a man is absolutely sterile, meaning that he produces no sperm, I don't think ICSI is going to help at all. Male factor is not an issue for us (that we know of, yet), but my limited knowledge in the area coupled with just a bit of common sense tells me that ICSI is for when the little guys aren't "strong enough." Which, I guess, is a form of sterility, but Dr. Spar was being fairly unclear. ProjGen or someone else dealing with MFI - can you shed some light on this?

POINT: She implies that ICSI is the only new technology out there to help "people who have more and more advanced cases of infertility."

POINT: Couples who analyze embryos at the eight-cell stage generally do so in order to determine which ones will have the greatest likelihood of implantation leading to a successful pregnancy. Granted, what she said technically means the same thing as what I just said, but her words imply that the couples make a value judgment on their potential children, choosing those that are less "flawed" and therefore would make for more desirable offspring. Oh, and this reminds me...

POINT: In IVF, the doctor transfers the embryo(s) to the uterus. The doctor does not implant the embryos. The embryos have to find their own way to the uterine lining and implant themselves there, if they can. If doctors could do the implanting part, first-time IVF success rates would skyrocket.

POINT: I don't see many infertile couples choosing for sex, much less hair or eye color. Perhaps fertiles (such as yourself, Dr. I Adopted My Third So I Could Have A Little Girl) think along those lines, and if they want to subject themselves to the financial strain (not to mention the physical psychological consequences) of IVF just to get their dream child, well, really, I just have no words.

Did I say I had just "a few" points? Oops.