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Reply Fertility and Gynecology Subforum
Article: Medical Advances in Fertility

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LorienLlewellyn

Quotable Informer

PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:08 pm


"Women might one day be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological children.
German scientists have manipulated human stem cells, extracted from bone marrow, into immature sperm cells.

The researchers hope to use the technique to grow fully developed sperm within five years.

They say this may lead to ground-breaking fertility treatment for thousands of men, including cancer patients left sterile by chemotherapy.

But the technique, which could also be adapted to counter female infertility by growing eggs in a lab, raises the prospect of children being born through entirely artificial means.

If it were abused, men could be sidelined.

But Australian Stem Cell Centre chief executive Stephen Livesey said the research was in its early stages, and it was premature to suggest the technique could make men redundant.

"Australia supports a ban on reproductive cloning, and even if the technology could be misused there are controls in place in Australia to ensure it would not be," Prof Livesey said.

"This technique could benefit infertile males, and to say it could make men redundant is fairly shallow.""
http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,21553043-663,00.html
PostPosted: Tue Apr 24, 2007 4:10 pm


Same thing, different article:

"For the first time ever, scientists have successfully synthesized human sperm from bone marrow. With this new technology, a woman can have her own sperm created in a lab-no man needed. Does this make men obsolete?

The University of Newcastle upon Tyne (in Northern England) conducted this ground-breaking research. Researchers took adult stem cells from bone marrow and were able to create immature sperm cells. According to the researchers, a lot more research is needed and it could take three to five years to develop a process in which these cells develop into the mature sperm cells needed for reproduction.

"This finding is of interest but we really need to be very cautious about the interpretation," warns a leading British biologist (www.usatoday.com).

Karim Nayernia, of the University of Newcastle upon Tyne was the head researcher in this exciting study. She has already used artificial mouse sperm grown from stem cells to fertilize eggs and produce pups. While this success does not automatically translate into a guaranteed success in humans, it is a very hopeful step.

This new technology has many potential uses. Men who are sterile from testicular cancer or other ailments may be able to procreate. Single women will have yet another option for independent-insemination. Lesbian couples could now have their own child, without the current third-party donation.

Some ethicists raise questions over the similarity to human cloning. Stem-cell research in general is being threatened by some lawmakers.

No matter the final results, this new sperm-farming promises to be an interesting story to follow."
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/213762/will_men_soon_be_obsolete.html

LorienLlewellyn

Quotable Informer


Savina

PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 1:33 am


I love the idea of lesbian couples being able to have children that are theirs, in every aspect including genetics!

Only thing I don't think I get... or that they don't... is that as far as I'm aware, you couldn't just produce a child from ONE person's genetics, right? Well, legally? Because to make it a viable CHILD, it'd have to be combine genetics, but from just one person, it would technically be a clone... correct?

So single women would still need some kind of donor for the rest of the DNA, unless they wanted a clone-child... right?
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 11:48 am


Exactly.

You could not use your own marrow to make the sperm to fertilize your own egg. So in cases of lesbian couples, one uses her egg, while the other uses sperm from her marrow.

If a single woman wanted a baby, she could even use sperm from a female friend's marrow if she wanted the baby to come from someone she knew rather than an anonymous sperm donor and did not have a good male friend. xp

LorienLlewellyn

Quotable Informer

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Fertility and Gynecology Subforum

 
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