Vaginal culture for IVF allows two mothers to carry the same pregnancy: Is more always better?

Gilbert, Sara Babcock; Polotsky, Alex J.

doi:10.1016/j.crwh.2019.e00099

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 3 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…, 2012 ; Vieira and Colucci, 2013 ). The device is also suggested for same-sex female couples, where the woman who will not be the gestational mother carries the device to be more involved in gestation, so-called ‘shared motherhood’ ( Babcock Gilbert and Polotsky, 2019 ; Jellerette-Nolan etal. , 2021 ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Good practice recommendations on add-ons in reproductive medicine

Lundin,

Bentzen,

Bozdag

et al. 2023

Human Reproduction

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

STUDY QUESTION Which add-ons are safe and effective to be used in ART treatment? SUMMARY ANSWER Forty-two recommendations were formulated on the use of add-ons in the diagnosis of fertility problems, the IVF laboratory and clinical management of IVF treatment. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY The innovative nature of ART combined with the extremely high motivation of the patients has opened the door to the wide application of what has become known as ‘add-ons’ in reproductive medicine. These supplementary options are available to patients in addition to standard fertility procedures, typically incurring an additional cost. A diverse array of supplementary options is made available, encompassing tests, drugs, equipment, complementary or alternative therapies, laboratory procedures, and surgical interventions. These options share the common aim of stating to enhance pregnancy or live birth rates, mitigate the risk of miscarriage, or expedite the time to achieving pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION ESHRE aimed to develop clinically relevant and evidence-based recommendations focusing on the safety and efficacy of add-ons currently used in fertility procedures in order to improve the quality of care for patients with infertility. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS ESHRE appointed a European multidisciplinary working group consisting of practising clinicians, embryologists, and researchers who have demonstrated leadership and expertise in the care and research of infertility. Patient representatives were included in the working group. To ensure that the guidelines are evidence-based, the literature identified from a systematic search was reviewed and critically appraised. In the absence of any clear scientific evidence, recommendations were based on the professional experience and consensus of the working group. The guidelines are thus based on the best available evidence and expert agreement. Prior to publication, the guidelines were reviewed by 46 independent international reviewers. A total of 272 comments were received and incorporated where relevant. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE The multidisciplinary working group formulated 42 recommendations in three sections; diagnosis and diagnostic tests, laboratory tests and interventions, and clinical management. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Of the 42 recommendations, none could be based on high-quality evidence and only four could be based on moderate-quality evidence, implicating that 95% of the recommendations are supported only by low-quality randomized controlled trials, observational data, professional experience, or consensus of the development group. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS These guidelines offer valuable direction for healthcare professionals who are responsible for the care of patients undergoing ART treatment for infertility. Their purpose is to promote safe and effective ART treatment, enabling patients to make informed decisions based on realistic expectations. The guidelines aim to ensure that patients are fully informed about the various treatment options available to them and the likelihood of any additional treatment or test to improve the chance of achieving a live birth. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) All costs relating to the development process were covered from ESHRE funds. There was no external funding of the development process or manuscript production. K.L. reports speakers fees from Merck and was part of a research study by Vitrolife (unpaid). T.E. reports consulting fees from Gynemed, speakers fees from Gynemed and is part of the scientific advisory board of Hamilton Thorne. N.P.P. reports grants from Merck Serono, Ferring Pharmaceutical, Theramex, Gedeon Richter, Organon, Roche, IBSA and Besins Healthcare, speakers fees from Merck Serono, Ferring Pharmaceutical, Theramex, Gedeon Richter, Organon, Roche, IBSA and Besins Healthcare. S.R.H. declares being managing director of Fertility Europe, a not-for-profit organization receiving financial support from ESHRE. I.S. is a scientific advisor for and has stock options from Alife Health, is co-founder of IVFvision LTD (unpaid) and received speakers’ fee from the 2023 ART Young Leader Prestige workshop in China. A.P. reports grants from Gedeon Richter, Ferring Pharmaceuticals and Merck A/S, consulting fees from Preglem, Novo Nordisk, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Gedeon Richter, Cryos and Merck A/S, speakers fees from Gedeon Richter, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Merck A/S, Theramex and Organon, travel fees from Gedeon Richter. The other authors disclosed no conflicts of interest. DISCLAIMER This Good Practice Recommendations (GPRs) document represents the views of ESHRE, which are the result of consensus between the relevant ESHRE stakeholders and are based on the scientific evidence available at the time of preparation. ESHRE GPRs should be used for information and educational purposes. They should not be interpreted as setting a standard of care or bedeemedinclusive of all proper methods of care, or be exclusive of other methods of care reasonably directed to obtaining the same results.Theydo not replace the need for application of clinical judgement to each individual presentation, or variations based on locality and facility type. Furthermore, ESHRE GPRs do not constitute or imply the endorsement, or favouring, of any of the included technologies by ESHRE.

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Good practice recommendations on add-ons in reproductive medicine

Lundin,

Bentzen,

Bozdag

et al. 2023

Human Reproduction

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Notwithstanding, this article does not aim at finding a definitive answer to the issues related to pregnancy beginning, but it aims only at questioning about ReIVF and similar techniques on a bioethical point of view. The verb “carrying” and the phrase “carrying the (same) pregnancy” are mainly taken by Gilbert and Polotsky, 2 who were among the first scholars to have addressed the topic, and by Mucowski, 10 who is a reproductive endocrinologist at the clinic that performed ReIVF first. Since ReIVF has not been largely discussed in scientific literature, newspapers articles are considered as well, and some of the phrases that they used to describe ReIVF process like “shared pregnancy” or “carrying the same baby” are used.…”

Section: Some Needed Clarificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As for the Effortless IVF method, it is based on the intravaginal culture of embryos, which is not a new technique. 2 Actually, since as early as 1988 Ranoux et al . suggested placing inside the vagina a hermetically closed tube totally filled with culture, in which eggs would have been combined with sperm.…”

Section: Carrying the Same Pregnancy: What Is Reciprocal Effortless I...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In the words of Gilbert and Polotski, this was the first time that two women “carried” the same pregnancy. 2 Then, in 2019, in Europe, two other women carried the same pregnancy as well, but that time they were enabled to carry the same embryo in both their wombs through a treatment that was like ReIVF. Despite the slight differences between the two treatments, it is worth noting that both were performed successfully, and that two healthy babies were born using them.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Carrying the same pregnancy: A bioethical overview on Reciprocal effortless IVF and similar techniques

Mangione

2023

Clinical Ethics

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nowadays, novel techniques such as Reciprocal effortless in vitro fertilization (ReIVF) enable two individuals to “carry the same pregnancy,” that is to “carry” the same embryo in both their bodies. However, even though these techniques are likely to be increasingly requested, little is known about their safety and efficacy, and much less about their bioethical legitimacy and issues. Considering their uniqueness, this study assesses the compatibility of ReIVF as well as of another similar technique with the classical principles of medical ethics: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. The aim is twofold: (i) to start investigating whether these techniques and their underlying reasons are, or could ever be, bioethically justifiable and (ii) to make clinicians and any other potentially interested persons such as researchers, lawmakers and prospective parents themselves are more aware of the health and social implications of using these techniques. Hence, after a brief overview of the technical aspects of the procedures that allow two persons to carry the same pregnancy, this study offers a general moral framework that can be useful for starting to address some relevant aspects of these procedures, such as their benefits and harms on the health of the individuals involved, the reasons behind their use, and the possibility that they might be covered by states in the future. Finally, this study provides a bioethical overview on ReIVF as well as on similar techniques considering different perspectives, while also suggesting some questions and recommendations for further research.

show abstract

“…The intravaginal culture (IVC) technique using the INVOCell ™ device has being offered as a novelty, and has been a topic in clinical discussions, but this technology is not new ( Babcock Gilbert & Polotsky, 2019 ). In 1988, IVC was proposed as a technique offering a more balanced environment and a less costly procedure, increasing access to reproductive care and maintaining embryonic potential without compromising the possibility of pregnancy ( Ranoux et al, 1988 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Randomized prospective study comparing conventional In Vitro Fertilization technique to Intravaginal Culture with the INVOCELL™ device for 3 and 5 days

Esmaeilzadeh¹,

Ghorbani²,

Abdolahzadeh³

et al. 2022

JBRA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective The objective was to analyse and compare the formation and quality of the embryos developed using conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) and IVC techniques with an INVOCell™ device. Methods Two groups were formed, with eight couples in each, one in culture for three days (D3) and another in culture for five days (D5), using intravaginal culture technique with an INVOcell device and a conventional in vitro fertilization technique. Results Embryo formation in Group D5 showed 46.7% (IVC) and 40% (IVF) of recovered blastocysts. In the group D5, the conventional IVF, better embryo development dynamics was observed, with 66% of expanded blastocysts, against 28% in the IVC. Group D3 showed 75% (IVC) and 53% (IVF) of embryo formation. Embryonic quality in Group D3 demonstrated that IVF embryos had a better synchrony in the number and quality of blastomeres. All embryos recovered in Group D3, in both techniques, did not show fragmentation. The pH of the medium contained in the INVOCell™ device in both Groups D5 and D3 showed no differences. The means were 7.26 and 7.25, respectively. The pH of the medium used in IVF was 7.29 in both groups. Microbiological analyzes of the culture media contained in the INVOCell™ devices used in Group D5 were negative. Conclusions The results showed that the IVC technique, using the INVOCell™ device, provided a healthy and balanced environment for the development and obtaining of quality embryos with three and five days of culture.

show abstract

Vaginal culture for IVF allows two mothers to carry the same pregnancy: Is more always better?

Cited by 5 publications

References 3 publications

Good practice recommendations on add-ons in reproductive medicine

Good practice recommendations on add-ons in reproductive medicine

Carrying the same pregnancy: A bioethical overview on Reciprocal effortless IVF and similar techniques

Randomized prospective study comparing conventional In Vitro Fertilization technique to Intravaginal Culture with the INVOCELL™ device for 3 and 5 days

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About