ASRM Meeting: What to Know
Posted by Jessica Cussins October 24, 2013
Biopolitical Times
Last week in Boston the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) held its annual meeting, one of those mega-conferences with a 276-page program and reporters trolling for stories.
One story that generated coverage from high-profile outlets including CBS News, NBC News and Time was based on an ASRM press statement announcing that 5 million babies have been born worldwide as a result of assisted reproductive technologies. But this was not actually news; it’s a “best guess” that was released more than a year ago. Some reporters wound up elaborating on the statistic with stories about heart-warming IVF success stories or experimental IVF techniques. None mentioned the numbers cited by Miriam Zoll in her new book Cracked Open: Liberty, Fertility and the Pursuit of High Tech Babies showing that most IVF cycles fail to produce a pregnancy.
Here are some other notable news stories that came out of the conference, with brief comments:
Previously on Biopolitical Times:
One story that generated coverage from high-profile outlets including CBS News, NBC News and Time was based on an ASRM press statement announcing that 5 million babies have been born worldwide as a result of assisted reproductive technologies. But this was not actually news; it’s a “best guess” that was released more than a year ago. Some reporters wound up elaborating on the statistic with stories about heart-warming IVF success stories or experimental IVF techniques. None mentioned the numbers cited by Miriam Zoll in her new book Cracked Open: Liberty, Fertility and the Pursuit of High Tech Babies showing that most IVF cycles fail to produce a pregnancy.
Here are some other notable news stories that came out of the conference, with brief comments:
- In ART Cycles, Retrieval of More than 15 Eggs Leads to Increased Risk of Complications, But Only Minor Increase in Birth Rate
This is a particularly important study and offers a new guideline; many women who undergo egg retrieval have significantly more than 15 eggs harvested. Less intensive ovarian stimulation would help lower the risks of adverse effects.
- Multiple Egg Donations May Not Affect Women's Future Fertility: Study
The title of this story sounds better than what you learn when you read further: A study at Weill Cornell Medical College found that women could continue to produce a sizeable number of eggs per cycle, over multiple donations. News coverage of the study did not address other health outcomes for the women, the quality of their eggs, or whether any successful pregnancies resulted for others or themselves.
- Frozen Donor Eggs Are as Efficient as Fresh, and Are More Cost Effective
It seems important to note that “as efficient” here means that clinical pregnancy rates were similar – 60% for fresh cycles and 57% for frozen cycles. There were apparently no data on comparisons of the percentage of actual births, or on the health of the resulting children.
- New IVF Research Shows Single Embryo Transfer with Comprehensive Chromosome Screening Results in Equivalent Delivery Rates, Healthier Babies and Lower Costs
The incidence of twins is 20 times greater with assisted reproduction than with natural conception, leading to increased health risks to the mother and children. Some doctors and others have been advocating single embryo transfer for years; this research may encourage that trend.
- Use of Donor Sperm by Lesbian Couples Increases After Gay Marriage Legal
The title pretty much sums up this one.
- Effects of BPA on conception and pregnancy
BPA, a chemical used in the production of plastic among other things, could be leading to higher infertility and miscarriage rates.
Previously on Biopolitical Times: