How many individuals can one idea affect? Many people all around the world have problems with fertility. Around 17.5 percent of humans have a difficult time having a baby. IVG stands for In-Vitro-Gametogenesis, which is an alternative form of conception that people can use by taking other cells from their own body to have a child. This gives people the opportunity to have children with a person of the same sex, and the baby will still be biologically related to both parents. Another option it gives is solo IVG, which allows a singular person to conceive a baby all by themself. This idea gives people who can not have children the chance to grow their own families.
In the United States, around nine percent of men and eleven percent of women have fertility problems, according to the National Institute of Health. This can be stressful and heartbreaking news to hear, especially if they want to start a family. Some people do not realize how lucky they are to have these options until they don’t anymore. There are many different ways people can have a family if they are infertile; there is adoption, IVF, surrogacy, or even medical procedures, but what if those don’t work, or they want their child to have their genetics? IVG can help people have a child that is biologically theirs and they don’t have to worry about whether their bodies will let them.
Scientists first started working on IVGs over a decade ago in Japan, but researchers say they won’t even be ready to work on humans for five to ten years. Is it going to happen the way they say it will, is it going to take longer, or will come sooner than expected? No one can predict what will happen or when it will happen, but whenever it does, it will change the world for some people because it will give them the life they want more than anything else in the universe. The National Library of Medicine said, “The development of IVG could have a significant impact on human reproduction as a watershed remedy for infertility. It is descriptively useful, on scientific and bioethical grounds, to distinguish the use of IVG to restore ‘natural’ fertility in individuals or couples from their application to expand human fertility beyond current limits.”
Dr. Eli Adashi, a Brown University professor, said, “It’s only a matter of time before technology will allow scientists to take cells from a person’s mouth or skin and, using a process called In-Vitro-Gametogenesis, turn those cells into human eggs or sperm.” She’s right; it is only a matter of time before people have the opportunity to use the cells they have to create the ones they don’t.
However, there is a roadblock that could come up for many: the price. While the exact cost is unknown as of now, the “normal” IVF route can cost up to $30,000 for just one round according to Forbes. This could indicate a very hefty price tag for this new and innovative way to get people pregnant that want to start a family.
IVG can change everything for some people, while others don’t even know what’s going on, but in reality, it will affect everyone if the idea works. If it’s successful, in 50 years, people all around the world can be affected by IVG. They could have friends, significant others, coworkers, teachers, or even children of their own who are the product of In-Vitro-Gametogenesis.
