‘IVf for women above 45 years is unethical’
Published: 14th September 2019 06:26 AM
By Sowmya Mani
Express News Service
CHENNAI: The recent case of a 74-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh delivering twins has sent shock waves across the medical community. Doctors from the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR), Indian Fertility Society, and the Academy of Clinical Embryologists have issued a joint statement, slamming the hospital. They called it a ‘mindless misutilisation of IVF technologies’. CE speaks to Dr P Padma Priya, consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist and fertility specialist at Jeyam multi-speciality & Fertility Hospital, Tiruchy, to understand what IVF means and what are the rules that govern it.
GUIDELINES
“This case from Andhra Pradesh is a total misuse of Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART). IVF is supposed to be done only for women between the age of 18 years and 45 years, and only three times. If it doesn’t work, the patients have to go in for adoption,” says Dr Priya.
Explaining why it is a risk to perform IVF on an elderly person, she says, “It’s completely unethical. There are so many problems in doing this to a woman aged 74. First problem is raising the child, when the child grows up, how can the parents take care of him/her.
Parental attention will not be there. From a medical perspective, maternal mortality is very high, and mothers have a high chance of getting diabetes and hypertension.”
THE PROCEDURE
IVF is an artificial reproductive technique where sperm and eggs are fertilised outside the body in a dish in the lab. The fertilised eggs, called embryos, are transplanted into the uterus after growing them for three to five days. Alternatively, the embryos can be frozen and transferred to the uterus in the next cycle. “In IVF,
fertilisation happens outside the body instead of inside the fallopian tube,” says Dr Priya.
WHEN TO OPT FOR IVF
There are male and female indicators that make IVF necessary:
MALE INDICATORS
The man can’t perform sexual intercourse
Semen parameters are too low
FEMALE INDICATORS
Blockage or removal of the fallopian tube
Previous sterilisation
Ovulation problems like PCOD
Severe endometriosis
RISK FACTORS
Ovarian hyper stimulation: When the gonadotropin injection is given, sometimes too many follicles develop. Ovaries become swollen and fluid appears in the cavities
Multiple births: IVF increases the risk of multiple births
WHY IVF IS ON THE RISE
Increased cases of PCOD. Many women don’t ovulate
The age when women conceive is delayed. We see many cases of pregnancy after 35
Chance of natural pregnancy lowers with age
Obesity is on the rise. Obesity leads to problems in ovulation
‘DON’T TRY THIS AFTER 45’
The worldwide success rate of IVF is 35%-40% per cycle. “There is a need to counsel patients, especially those who are above 50 years. We must not entertain such patients. They must be strictly told that IVF cannot be administered to them,” she says.
They must be strictly told that IVF cannot be administered to them,” she says.
Published: 14th September 2019 06:26 AM
By Sowmya Mani
Express News Service
CHENNAI: The recent case of a 74-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh delivering twins has sent shock waves across the medical community. Doctors from the Indian Society for Assisted Reproduction (ISAR), Indian Fertility Society, and the Academy of Clinical Embryologists have issued a joint statement, slamming the hospital. They called it a ‘mindless misutilisation of IVF technologies’. CE speaks to Dr P Padma Priya, consultant obstetrician, gynaecologist and fertility specialist at Jeyam multi-speciality & Fertility Hospital, Tiruchy, to understand what IVF means and what are the rules that govern it.
GUIDELINES
“This case from Andhra Pradesh is a total misuse of Assisted Reproductive Treatment (ART). IVF is supposed to be done only for women between the age of 18 years and 45 years, and only three times. If it doesn’t work, the patients have to go in for adoption,” says Dr Priya.
Explaining why it is a risk to perform IVF on an elderly person, she says, “It’s completely unethical. There are so many problems in doing this to a woman aged 74. First problem is raising the child, when the child grows up, how can the parents take care of him/her.
Parental attention will not be there. From a medical perspective, maternal mortality is very high, and mothers have a high chance of getting diabetes and hypertension.”
THE PROCEDURE
IVF is an artificial reproductive technique where sperm and eggs are fertilised outside the body in a dish in the lab. The fertilised eggs, called embryos, are transplanted into the uterus after growing them for three to five days. Alternatively, the embryos can be frozen and transferred to the uterus in the next cycle. “In IVF,
fertilisation happens outside the body instead of inside the fallopian tube,” says Dr Priya.
WHEN TO OPT FOR IVF
There are male and female indicators that make IVF necessary:
MALE INDICATORS
The man can’t perform sexual intercourse
Semen parameters are too low
FEMALE INDICATORS
Blockage or removal of the fallopian tube
Previous sterilisation
Ovulation problems like PCOD
Severe endometriosis
RISK FACTORS
Ovarian hyper stimulation: When the gonadotropin injection is given, sometimes too many follicles develop. Ovaries become swollen and fluid appears in the cavities
Multiple births: IVF increases the risk of multiple births
WHY IVF IS ON THE RISE
Increased cases of PCOD. Many women don’t ovulate
The age when women conceive is delayed. We see many cases of pregnancy after 35
Chance of natural pregnancy lowers with age
Obesity is on the rise. Obesity leads to problems in ovulation
‘DON’T TRY THIS AFTER 45’
The worldwide success rate of IVF is 35%-40% per cycle. “There is a need to counsel patients, especially those who are above 50 years. We must not entertain such patients. They must be strictly told that IVF cannot be administered to them,” she says.
They must be strictly told that IVF cannot be administered to them,” she says.
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