UPDATE - Whew...Woman "Pregnant" with 12 Babies is NOT true!

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Theresa Erickson

I don’t think that I ever hoped that someone was NOT pregnant, but this case certainly was one.  And, now she has been exposed as a “fraud” – thank goodness for those “babies.” 

 

Apparently, officials in Tunsania interviewed her – they found her not to be pregnant.  They also think that she has some psychological issues, as she is likely not even pregnant with one baby.  I will not even get into the issue of psychology in this post, as the officials were more focused on the fraud then on the fact that this woman may have fertility problems.  (Side note: I hope that they get her some psychological help if needed)

 

First, what surprised me was that her husband had been quoted in the last article – interesting, as he should know that she is pregnant or not, or so I would hope.  This fact points more to fraud as they were likely trying to cash in on a story.

 

Secondly, I was surprised that Dr. Manny Alvarez from Fox News stated that any pregnancy over five babies is “high risk.”  "When you get to a pregnancy with that many multiples, often some of them spontaneously die," Alvarez said. "Anything more than five babies becomes a very high-risk pregnancy. The rates of premature labor for multiples are astronomical."

 

Fox News, please do not pass that sort of information around, as I am certain that many, if not all, doctors would disagree with that number, which appears to be awfully high.  We certainly do not want to be informing people that up to five babies is okay, especially after the “Octomom.” Again, I am not a doctor of any type, but I am certain they would all agree with me.  

 

As I included in my comment of Monday from Dr. David Kreiner (FACOGI), I wanted to remind everyone the following from him: “I site the SART recommendations on the number of embryos transferred and my endorsement of making this a regulation. I talk about the benefits of IVF where one can control the number of embryos transferred compared to IUI where as many eggs as you make can fertilize and implant. I am sure you know that 99% of REIs were absolutely against that 6 embryos were transferred into one woman. Perhaps this Tunisian pregnancy of a dozen implanted embryos should teach us that it is cheaper for insurance companies, the government and society to support IVF treatment rather than put people in a position where they feel compelled to play roulette with their lives by doing gonadotropins and IUIs rather than IVF.”


Well, thankfully for all involved, this story was untrue!

 


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Suit over "Alleged Egg Sharing" Toss Again in Federal Court - ASRM & SART

Posted on May 18, 2009 by Theresa Erickson

In an order signed Friday in the District Court for the Northern District of California, Judge Fogel granted the Defendants' Motion to Dismiss, but ruled that the plaintiff, the Options National Fertility Registry, could file another amended complaint within 20 days.. 

For more information on this case see Suit Over Alleged Egg-Sharing Tossed Once Again

"Options, a bankrupt international registry of data pertaining to egg donation arrangements, filed the suit in October 2007 on behalf of a group of donors whose eggs the defendants, two organizations that represent doctors and clinics, allegedly gave to unknown and unauthorized recipients via an industrywide practice known as “egg-sharing,” in violation of legally binding contracts.

The suit alleged that from 1992 through 2003, the defendants and Options had written and oral contracts by which the defendants agreed not to transfer, donate, sell, give or otherwise dispose of any eggs or embryos of the donors to anyone other than recipients specifically designated in profile transfer requests signed by doctors.

But from 1992 to the present, the defendants have breached those contracts by engaging in egg-sharing without obtaining the consent of the donors at least two weeks prior to egg retrieval, Options alleged.

Options claimed it did not learn of the practice until January 2005, when a doctor testified that infertility doctors were encouraged by the defendants to participate in egg-sharing, according to court documents.....

The donors also fear that their offspring may have increased risk of unknowingly engaging in incestuous relationships because of the defendants' actions, according to the complaint.

In addition to punitive damages and attorneys' fees and costs, the suit sought to enjoin the defendants from engaging in unauthorized egg-sharing.

After Judge Fogel dismissed the complaint in October, ruling that the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, Options filed an amended complaint in January, alleging the same state law claims for breach of contract, fraud and others, as well as two federal claims for civil Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and antitrust violations.

The amended complaint alleged racketeering because the defendants violated Options' and the donors' rights and property interests, as well as antitrust violations because Options was driven out of business as a result of the defendants' slanderous statements.

In dismissing the amended complaint, Judge Fogel concluded that the Options' claims under the federal statutes were “so devoid of factual support as to border on the frivolous.”

Although Judge Fogel said it was dubious that Options could allege a viable racketeering or antitrust claim in the case, he granted the plaintiff leave to amend the complaint yet again."

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Triplet and Higher Order Multiple Births from ART Are Below Two Percent

Posted on April 8, 2009 by Theresa Erickson

According to a press release sent out by ASRM, Triplet and Higher Order Multiple Births from ART Are Below Two Percent.  Further the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology Releases Data from 2007 Clinic Outcome Reports.   The information is as follows:

"Washington, DC – The latest IVF Success Rate Reports from the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART) are now on-line. The 2007 data show several important on-going trends: the percentage of live births with triplets or more is now below 2%; the average number of embryos transferred has declined; and the percentages of cycles utilizing single embryo transfer is up.

SART President, Elizabeth Ginsburg, MD, commented, “Our latest numbers show our progress in decreasing the incidence of multiple pregnancies. In 2007, 1.8% of live births to patients under 35 were triplets or more; this is down from 6.4% in 2003. As our members continue their efforts in implementing ASRM-SART guidelines, we should see future improvements in patient care and outcomes.”

For 2007, 358 clinics reported data to SART on 132,745 treatment cycles, 40,050 of which resulted in the birth of 53,050 babies. "

For the SART Results, patients can click on the yellow box, “IVF Success Rate Reports,” to search for SART member clinics in their area and view the clinics’ individual data. Each clinic’s report allows access to yearly data from 2003 through 2007 and details procedures the clinic offers with corresponding success rates. Prospective patients can use the site’s features to view clinic data organized according to the treatment types and diagnoses most relevant to them and with a click, can send a request for additional information.

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