Problems during transport have been described in the l i t e ra tu re f o r human embryos desp i t e specifically-designed dry shippers, including failure of the dry shipper and poorer outcomes using the transported material. The aim of the present study was to examine the performance after thawing of embryos imported to the Hollywood Fertility Centre in a dry-shipper (MVE SC 4/2V). A total of ...

According to the judgement of the European Court of Justice in 2014, human parthenogenetic stem cells are excluded from the patenting prohibition of procedures based on hESC by the European Biopatent Directive, because human parthenotes are not human embryos. This article is based on the thesis that in light of the technological advances in the field of stem cell research, the attribution of th...

Functional assay limitations are an emerging issue in characterizing human pluripotent stem cells (PSCs). With rodent PSCs, chimera formation using pre-implantation embryos is the gold-standard assay of pluripotency (competence of progeny to differentiate into all three germ layers). In human PSCs (hPSCs), however, this can only be monitored via teratoma formation or in vitro differentiation, a...

This paper considers embryo grading within a given infertility treatment and suggests an ethical approach to embryo donation for embryonic stem cell harvest. It is concluded that ethical considerations regarding human embryos do not necessarily preclude the use of certain embryos for biomedical research or transplantation. The argument is based on the following rationale: all embryos are not ph...

In this paper the permissibility of stem cell research on early human embryos is defended. It is argued that, in order to have moral status, an individual must have an interest in its own wellbeing. Sentience is a prerequisite for having an interest in avoiding pain, and personhood is a prerequisite for having an interest in the continuation of one's own existence. Early human embryos are not s...

Since the first successful aggregation of mouse embryos was reported by TARKowsKi,ii) many studies on chimera production have been carried out.S'6'7) Chimeras produced by the aggregation of early embryos have been widely used in experimental investigations of mammalian embryolegy and developmental genetics.4'9) Chimeric experimental animals have also been used to study some problems of human ge...

Controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH) affects adversely implantation following in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. COH with gonadotropins alters endometrial receptivity and luteal function. In addition periovulatory endometrial characteristics in stimulated cycles are considerably different compared with the natural cycles, and periovulatory secretory transformation is consistently ...

previous studies have shown that morphine administration could inhibit neural tube development in rat embryos and produce behavioral defects in human and animals. in the present study, the effects of maternal morphine consumption on embryonic neural plate development in wistar rats were investigated. methods: twenty-four female wistar rats (250-300 g) were crossed with males. after pregnancy, t...