Sources of Embryonic Stem Cells
In Vitro Fertilization:
The largest potential source of blastocysts for stem cell research is from in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics. The process of IVF requires the retrieval of a woman's eggs via a surgical procedure after undergoing an intensive regimen of "fertility drugs," which stimulate her ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs. When IVF is used for reproductive purposes, doctors typically fertilize all of the donated eggs in order to maximize their chance of producing a viable blastocyst that can be implanted in the womb. Because not all the fertilized eggs are implanted, this has resulted in a large bank of "excess" blastocysts that are currently stored in freezers around the country. The blastocysts stored in IVF clinics could prove to be a major source of embryonic stem cells for use in medical research. However, because most of these blastocysts were created before the advent of stem cell research, most donors were not asked for their permission to use these left-over blastocysts for research.
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