Friday, August 03, 2012

IVF clients offered risky procedures

Yellow Triangular Sign with Exclamation Mark to Indicate Danger
 What? My body, my choice!

The authors also hint that commercial considerations may play a role in the promotion of techniques before they have been proven safe and effective. “Although the same could be said for all areas of medicine, assisted reproductive technology in particular has developed a very strong commercial backing. It is therefore particularly important to ensure that all new technologies are adequately and rigorously tested for both safety and efficiency, ideally before being used clinically.”

Furthermore, there is a danger of hurting emotionally vulnerable patients: “some of the techniques offered to some patients offer little or no benefit, and in the worse cases [are] not confirmed to be safe. This is a particular concern as many of the techniques discussed here are often reserved for already vulnerable patients, such as those with recurrent IVF failure.”

Why do we need government involvement in reproductive matters, anyway? Just let industry police themselves. There is absolutely no dangerous these profit-driven companies won't try to bilk their clients.