The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that several key powers to regulate and licence fertility practices under Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Act (the Act) should fall under provincial jurisdiction....
A new genetic test could lead to the elimination of hundreds of inherited diseases, US scientists claim....
Clinics should warn patients about the increased risk of birth defects for children conceived using fertility treatment, say the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA)....
New research suggests that Down's syndrome could be detected using genetic screening, avoiding the need for invasive detection procedures....
Over the last few months BioNews has covered the developing story that a number of PCTs across England have suspended their fertility services, citing financial constraints as a prominent factor....
A Japanese MP has sparked a debate over the country's attitudes towards motherhood after giving birth to a baby boy through IVF at the age of 50....
A recent study suggests American consumers would be prepared to pay on average up to $600 for a predictive genetic test where no direct treatment is available....
Scientists have found that the health of infants born through IVF depends on which techniques were used and their infertility diagnoses....
An international team of researchers have found that both embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) show higher genetic abnormalities than other cells....
This is an extraordinary book about a woman who died on 4 October 1951, but whose legacy will continue exponentially. Henrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer who died, aged only 31, in the 'coloured ward' of John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore....
Comment
Study of patients' experiences highlights need for national strategy for rare diseases
by Stephen Nutt
A report released recently by Rare Disease UK (RDUK) demonstrates how patients and families affected by rare diseases frequently have problems accessing good quality services, care and support. The report, 'Experiences of Rare Diseases: An Insight from Patients and Families'[1], is based on a survey of 600 patients and families conducted by RDUK to examine a wide range of topics pertinent to patients with rare diseases: diagnosis, participation in research, access to treatment, information, ...
Paying gamete and embryo donors: what are the right principles?
by Walter Merricks
We regard it as morally wrong to buy or sell babies. We do not allow a trade in human body parts - kidneys, organs or blood. Commercial arrangements to pay fees to surrogate mothers are banned. The UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) says there is a 'shortage' of donated gametes and embryos - in the sense that there are fewer gametes and embryos that have been donated than the number of people who would like to receive them. There are also 'shortages' of babies available...