IVF wife sues over delays that made her use donor eggs

A pregnant woman is suing her health trust after she was forced to conceive using a donated egg because of delays in treating her.

Greta Mason, 42, claims a barrage of unnecessary fertility tests followed by a six-year wait for treatment meant her eggs were too old to be used and she could only conceive using a donor.

She is upset that she will now give birth to a baby to which she is not genetically related, and claims earlier tests showed it was her husband who had the fertility problem.

Mrs Mason, from Worthing, West Sussex, claims that when she was finally given a clean bill of health, she and her husband Chris were kept on an NHS waiting list for four years before they even got an appointment for IVF.

Then when they had treatment after a further two years, doctors discovered that Mrs Mason's eggs were too old to be used and she could only conceive using an egg donor.

Mrs Mason, who expects her baby next week, said: 'Whilst I am sure I will love this baby when it arrives, I am absolutely devastated that it is not genetically mine.

'I had always dreamed of having my own flesh and blood child who will inherit my genes so it was an absolutely shattering blow.

'But the hospital failed to monitor my hormone levels and did not notice that my ovaries were getting too old to undergo fertility treatment.

'I always wanted a baby with my husband but the truth is that this baby is genetically another woman's, and at times during my pregnancy, because the baby is not related to me, I have simply felt like an incubator.

'It is so upsetting to think had we not had to wait four years just to get an appointment, we could have had our own genetic child by now.

'Chris and I know we are having a baby boy and are very much looking forward to having him but I also feel terribly sad because I will never look at my son and think, "He's just like me".'

Mrs Mason and her husband, a 43-year-old bus driver, married in 1993 and started trying for a baby in 1995, when Mrs Mason was 29.

After two years without success, they began fertility investigations.

It was soon discovered that Mr Mason had a problem, but doctors insisted that Mrs Mason should also have a range of tests, even though she had become pregnant in an earlier relationship, and miscarried.

'Unsurprisingly, all the tests came back showing my uterus was healthy and my eggs were normal,' she said.

At last, the couple were put on an NHS waiting list for IVF treatment. But after six years, when the treatment started, Mrs Mason was given the shattering news that her ovaries were too old.

'We have since discovered that whilst I was on the waiting list my hormone levels should have been checked twice a year to ensure I was not nearing the menopause,' she said.

'If this had been done, the doctors would have had an early warning that my eggs were getting too old to be used for IVF and they could have brought us in for treatment earlier.'

Having been told their only hope was an egg donor, the couple found there were virtually none in the UK and were forced to seek private IVF treatment in Spain, where donors are guaranteed anonymity and are more plentiful.

Mrs Mason said: 'Because fairhaired donors are rarer in Spain, guaranteeing a baby with blue eyes like me would have meant a wait of another year in Spain, so we opted for the next available donor.

'This means our baby might well have brown eyes and will not have any of my fairer characteristics. But I couldn't deny Chris his chance of having a baby.

'Whilst we were thrilled to be having a baby at last, I couldn't help feeling how unfair it was that although I did not have any fertility problems, I was the one who ended up without a genetically related baby. It has put a huge strain on our marriage.'

The couple have been forced to remortgage their house to pay for their Spanish treatment, which cost £15,000.

A spokesman for Oliver Swain and Co solicitors confirmed that they have taken instructions from Mr and Mrs Mason to sue Worthing and Southlands PCT.

UK Couple told to cool off over noisy sex romps

A cavorting couple who have noisy sex sessions for up to four hours are driving the neighbours bonkers. And after a series of complaints, the marathon romps have caused council chiefs to slap a noise abatement order on Steve and Caroline Cartwright to stop them from shouting and screaming during their late night and early morning love-making.
For two years, neighbours have been getting their knickers in a twist over the prolonged noise. The lengthy escapades have led to over 25 visits from the police and the pair have been arrested twice for causing a nuisance to neighbours and people passing by their open bedroom window. Police have monitored the situation and council environmental officers have frequently measured the sound level coming from the couple’s upstairs bedroom.
Today the couple defended their actions and spoke to the Chronicle about their antics. From their terraced home in Hall Road, Concord, Washington, Caroline said: “I must admit I do scream and make lots of noise when we are having sex, but I can’t help it.”


What the couple said

Caroline said: "I removed the bed’s headboard when a neighbour complained. That stopped the banging on the wall but I can’t stop screaming.
"Apparently I’m so loud people think I’m getting murdered. The police said they have called around because they have feared for my safety.
"We are not using whips or anything like that, we are just making love. Admittedly, we do it with quite a bit of noise.
"We have had threats and people shouting at us when we go outside because of the noise we make. We have upset a number of people. We understand even the postman made a complaint to the police."
Caroline, 47, who is unemployed, added: "Before Christmas last year we were arrested twice. Once we were cautioned and the second time the Crown Prosecution Service dropped the case because they said our love-making was at night.
"Once one neighbour recorded our noises and we had to go to the Sunderland City Council offices at the Civic Centre to listen to the tape. I couldn’t stop laughing. I really couldn’t take it seriously and I’m sure that is why a noise abatement order was taken out against us.
"It prevents me from screaming and shouting at such a level that I’m a nuisance. We have been told to close the windows and doors when we do it but it is hot at the moment so we have to leave the window open.
"We found out 23 years ago that we were having difficulties in conceiving a child so we started to have fertility treatment. Sex became a bit of a chore because you try so hard to conceive, but after I turned 37 we decided to stop trying with IVF because we would have to go private and start paying for the treatment and we couldn’t afford it.
"After that we just started enjoying the sex for what it is and we do it mostly at night for up to four hours, but more recently we have been falling asleep watching the TV and so we wake up early in the morning to do it instead.
"I used to be in a size 30 dress and now I’m in a size 18. I’ve lost six stones, it must be the amount of sex we are having, it’s good exercise.
"The neighbours keep complaining and we have even had our car vandalised, causing £2,000 of damage. People have thrown beer cans and pizza up at the window when they hear us. We enjoy sex and that’s all there is to it."
Steve, 46, a factory worker, said: "We have been married for 24 years and we still have sex all the time. I would say that is a good thing. I bet there are not that many couples who have been together for as long as we have who can say that.
"We like having sex, there’s nothing wrong with that."

What neighbours said

Neighbours complain that the pair sometimes leave the bedroom window open but even when it is shut they can still hear them having sex.
A neighbour, who didn’t want to be identified, said: "When it first started it was a bit of a giggle but it’s no laughing matter now.
"We’ve heard them having sex, her moaning and groaning, early in the morning, early in the evening and late at night.
"They just don’t seem to care and when I approached them about it they just shrugged their shoulders and said they were doing nothing wrong, that it was none of our business.
"But people who pass the house, especially children, can also hear them. I once saw a group of young lads standing outside on a Saturday night listening and laughing."
Another neighbour, who also didn’t want to be named, said: "Everyone is entitled to their private life but the noise is disgusting and it usually lasts a very long time.
"They just don’t seem to care. Something has to be done about it."
A resident from nearby Manor Park said families on the estate were aware of the complaints. The man, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: "When I go to the nearby shops I have to pass the couple’s house and I can hear them. They make a lot of noise, especially her.
"I can do my shopping and as I come home I can still hear them at it".


Police and council say

Sunderland City Council and Northumbria Police said in a joint statement: "Neighbours have complained to both Sunderland City Council and Northumbria Police of nuisance behaviour from the occupiers of the property.
"We have investigated the complaints and have attempted to solve the problem both formally and informally.
"Due to ongoing concerns, the council is now considering the most appropriate form of action to prevent further disturbance to local residents."
The spokeswoman declined to say what action was being considered.

The Way To Lavasa - Land of Zeus & Poseidon

September 6, 2008, Saturday. My wife Swati's birthday & what better way to celebrate it than taking her to the Land of Zeus & Poseidon:) In Greek mythology, Poseidon (Greek: Ποσειδῶν; Latin: Neptūnus) was the god of the sea. Poseidon was given a trident during the war of the Titans and the gods, in which he fought alongside his siblings. The war lasted ten years, after which the gods divided the earth among themselves by drawing lots. Zeus took the sky, Poseidon the sea and Hades the underworld. I have christened Lavasa as the Land of Zeus & Poseidon- a blessed waterbody in the skies. We left at 7am from our residence in Central Mumbai. We reached the Lavabahn(the road from Pirangut to Lavasa) in about three hours after a Wada-Pao break near the Kamshet toll-point on the Express-way. The road was enveloped by verdant green all through the 37 Kms to Lavasa. We met the Maharashtrian Cowboy (Dinkar Bhau on his pony Suraj)(see picture). We also met Ramdas the cattle-grazer & Subhash the Sahyadri Fodder-Delivery Executive (see pictures). We had Masala-Chai in Dagdu Mama's village about 9 Kms from Lavasa. Dagdu Mama posed for pictures with his Ox Krishnaa (see picture).
We saw Buffalos bathing in roadside ponds & cows grazing in lush green meadows. I was fascinated by the shades of Green all along the Lavabahn.The word green is closely related to the old English verb growan, “to grow”. It is used to describe plants or the ocean. The most common associations, however, are found in its ties to nature. For example, Islam venerates the color, as it expects paradise to be full of lush greenery. Green is also associated with regeneration, fertility and rebirth for its connections to nature. See the accompanying pictures of my Journey to Lavasa. Nineteen out of 20 pictures have thirteen shades of green.
Shocking pink (also called neon pink) is bold and intense. It takes its name from the shade used on the box of the perfume called Shocking, designed by Leonor Fini for the Surrealist fashion designer Elsa Schiaparelli in 1937. This in turn was inspired by the Tête de Belier (Ram's Head), a 17.27ct pink diamond from Cartier owned by heiress Daisy Fellowes, who was one of Schiaparelli's best clients. Shocking pink kept its name in British English, whereas in North America "This intense magenta was called shocking pink in the 1930s, hot pink in the 1950s, and kinky pink in the 1960s...[it] has appeared in the vanguard of more than one youth revolution...to some it sings, to others it screams" . On its way into the German language, shocking pink lost the "shocking" and is called only "Pink", while the English color "pink" is referred to as "Rosa". Meanwhile in Portuguese one of its nomenclatures arrived intact becoming "cor-de-rosa choque" ("shocking pink") used more frequently in Brazil. It's also called "çingene pembesi" (Gypsy pink) in Turkish. Enjoy the pink Saree of Yashoda Padwal working the green paddy fields- Don't miss out the pink wild flowers in the foreground. Pink shades continue in Master Waghmare's smart pink T-shirt. Pink was the predominant color standing out in the journey other than Green.
Before we hit the first dam on Warasgaon lake, we barged into the early morning board meeting of the Dasve goats right in the middle of the road! Taking a minor detour we crossed the first of six dams on the 22 Km lake and crossed over to the top of the dam. The lake is now overflowing through the controlled sluice gates and feeding the Mutha river which flows down towards Pune. See the accompanying aerial pictures of the beginnings of the Mutha river from the top of this dam. The Mutha arises in the western ghats and flows eastward until in merges with the Mula River in the city of Pune. It has been dammed twice, firstly at the Panshet Dam, used as a resource of HydroElectricity. The water released here is dammed again at Khadakwasla and is an important source of drinking water for Pune. One more dam has been built later on the Mutha river at Temghar. After merging with the River Mula in Pune it flows as the Mula-Mutha to join the river Bhima.
Finally, we were there! The Warasgaon lake brimming with happiness was the ideal home for Poseidon. The lake in Zeus' skies - at 3000 feet above sea level. The friendly staff at Ekaant welcomed us with Iced Tea - after a short walk through the freshly laid out nature trail, we savoured Chef Sandeep's creations (including my favorite Pokchoy leaf + Cottage cheese salad!). I enjoyed the chilled Fosters pints. The birthday party at night organized by the F & B team was a nice private dinner in the patio outside our ground level room - again, with the clouds walking into our room.

The sophisticated sex lives of sea squirts

Lead researcher and PhD student with UQ's School of Integrative Biology, Angela Crean, said the marine organisms could tailor their reproductive cells depending on the level of competition in the sea.

“When there are lots of competing males trying to fertilise the eggs of females, males produce larger, more competitive sperm that live for longer,” Ms Crean said.

“Similarly, when females detect that there are too many males competing for her eggs (too many sperm can kill the eggs of some organisms) the females ‘play hard to get' producing smaller eggs that are harder for searching sperm to find.

“These changes make sense if you're stuck to a rock like sea-squirts are.

“If you can't run away from a highly competitive environment, you must therefore make your gametes more competitive in order to get a higher chance of successfully reproducing.”

The fact that sea squirts don't move made it possible for the majority of the investigation to be conducted in the Moreton Bay field environment.

In a Big Brother-style approach, the primary experiment involved placing a large number of sea squirts in a confined space for an extended period.

“We manipulated adult densities in the field by placing either one (low density) or 15 (high density) sea squirts in a cage for one month,” Ms Crean said.

“This research tells us a little as to how sex evolved in the first place.

“Specifically, it gives us some insight into why sperm are so tiny and males make millions of them whereas female eggs are much larger and are produced in fewer numbers.

“Because these organisms reproduce by the ancestral mode of reproduction, it gives us an indication as to how competition between males led to all sorts of reproductive strategies including the one used by humans: internal fertilisation.”

IVF/ICSI cause of Congenital Birth Defects?

The use of in vitro fertilization (IVF) or another assisted fertility technique called intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) to conceive appears to increase the odds of Y-chromosome defects or "microdeletions" in male offspring, Chinese researchers report. Such deletions could result in defective sperm production and possibly also hypospadias -- a common birth defect of the penis that occurs when the urinary outlet develops on the underside of the penis rather than at the tip.

Although this study was small, it "at least sounds an alarm about the genetic safety of assisted reproductive technology," the investigators conclude. Prior research has tied assisted reproductive technologies with low birth weight, preterm delivery, cerebral palsy, and major birth defects, leading some researchers to hypothesize that these therapies may induce gene mutations.

In the new study, Dr. He-Feng Huang, from Zhejiang University, and colleagues sought to answer this question by testing for genetic mutations in 19 male infants conceived through IVF, 18 conceived through ICSI, and 60 conceived naturally. The fathers of the infants were also tested. In an effort to isolate the impact of the fertility treatment, the researchers only studied infants whose parents had a normal genetic background.

Huang and colleagues found Y-chromosome microdeletions in one infant conceived with IVF (5.3 percent) and in three conceived with ICSI (16.7 percent). By contrast, no Y-chromosome deletions were seen in the control group.

One of the four infants with microdeletions had hypospadias, the report indicates.

This is not the first study to link ICSI with hypospadias, the investigators note, but the mechanism has been unclear. The current findings suggest that the association may be mediated through Y-chromosome microdeletions.

ICSI is the main method used to overcome male infertility. With ICSI, a single sperm is injected directly into a single egg. If successful fertilization occurs, the embryo is then placed into the female to undergo development as usual.

Larger studies "should be conducted to confirm our preliminary results," the researchers conclude.

Fertility a matter of mind as well as body

Infertile women's brains - and not just their bodies - may be blocking them from conceiving a baby, a new book says.

Some women may be sabotaging their chances of having a baby by failing to address their emotional needs, according to Melbourne author Michaela Ryan. Her new book, Trying to Conceive, tells 15 stories of women who miraculously fell pregnant after they solved a range of personal issues.

The stories include Deb and Keith, who endured 23 cycles of IVF and several miscarriages before Deb fell pregnant after she quit her job and reconnected with her long lost dad.

And there is Naomi, who spent eight years trying to conceive, but was successful only when she started relaxing more and believing in herself.

Ryan was moved to collect the stories after her own experience.

"I tried to conceive for 12 stress-filled months, then as soon as I stopped obsessing about having a baby, I fell pregnant," she said.

"So I became very interested in looking at the possible effects of emotional issues and the impact this might be having for couples wanting to fall pregnant."

Ryan, 32, a freelance writer from Elwood and her husband Ted, 34, are now the proud parents of Declan, 3.

"For a lot of the people I spoke to there were hidden fears that hadn't really been addressed like fear of repeating the mistakes of the past, fear of subsequent miscarriage or fears of not being a good mother," Ryan said.

"It's a really individual thing, but the common feeling is at some point there's an emotional shift -- a letting go -- and many women fall pregnant soon after that."

Ryan said medical science "has really caught up, and there are improved pregnancy rates for those on stress reduction programs, for instance".

"A lot of women are only given very physical approaches and this offers another angle. "

Dr Lynn Burmeister, clinical director of Monash IVF, said there was an underlying association between emotions and the body when it came to fertility.

"There are no studies in humans to confirm this, but what we do know is that stress can reduce fertility in a number of ways," she said.

"We do our best to make sure we look after our patients' minds as well as their bodies.

"Some do acupuncture and others attend our lifestyle modification clinics or see counsellors."

Dr Burmeister said she had seen patients with similar stories to those in the book.

"I have had patients who have made an appointment with us and just doing that has taken a weight off their shoulders, and they ring back saying that they are not going to need us," she said.

Microfluidic Chip Could Someday Lead to a More Targeted Embryo Selection Process

New technology could eventually make infertility treatments more effective and less expensive. Though it has so far only been tested with mouse embryos, the hope is that it could improve the process of selecting the most viable embryos for in vitro fertilization. Research on the new technology, informally called "lab on a chip," has been published in Analytical Chemistry.

In vitro fertilization, known as IVF, involves combining eggs and sperm outside the body in a laboratory. Once an embryo or embryos form, they are then placed in the uterus. IVF is a complex and expensive procedure. The average cost of IVF is more than $12,000.

Currently, fertility doctors evaluate the quality of an embryo being considered for IVF through microscopic examination of the embryo's physical characteristics, such as cell shape. This process is time-consuming and not reliable enough, according to researchers.

Almost 130,000 women undergo IVF procedures each year in the U.S. -- yet the success rate is only about 30%. To boost a woman's chances of conceiving, doctors may put more than one embryo into the uterus. This can lead to multiple births and makes the pregnancy riskier for both mother and child.

The scientists -- from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Fertility Laboratories of Colorado -- worked with a device called a microfluidic chip, which they hope will someday lead to a more targeted embryo selection process. The chip, about the size of a quarter, is designed to evaluate the health of embryos being considered for transplant by measuring how the embryo alters key nutrients in the tissue culture medium surrounding embryos, according to the study.

Researchers collected fluids surrounding 10 mouse embryos and analyzed the fluids using the computer-controlled chip. Within minutes, the device could accurately measure the metabolism of the embryos from the surrounding fluids. Long-term, the chip could improve the quality of embryos selected for human IVF, and it could also reduce the cost associated with the procedure, according to the study's authors.