Pride Angel

If scientists from Mars were to study the human male's reproductive system they would probably conclude that he is destined for rapid extinction. Compared to other mammals, humans produce relatively low numbers of viable sperm – sperm capable of making that long competitive swim to penetrate an unfertilised egg.

As many as one in five healthy young men between the ages of 18 and 25 produce abnormal sperm counts. Even the sperm they do produce is often of poor quality. In fact only between 5 and 15 per cent of their sperm is, on average, good enough to be classed as "normal" under strict World Health Organisation rules – and these are young, healthy men. By contrast, more than 90 per cent of the sperm of a domestic bull or ram, or even laboratory rat, are normal.

Human males also suffer a disproportionately high incidence of reproductive problems, from congenital defects and undescended testes to cancer and impotency. As these also affect fertility, it's a minor miracle men are able to sire any children at all. In fact, an increasing number of men are finding themselves childless. Among the one in seven couples now classed as infertile, the "male factor" has been found to be the most commonly identified cause.

Next year marks the 20th anniversary of the WHO conference where a Danish scientist first alerted the world to the fact that Western men are suffering an infertility crisis. Professor Niels Skakkebaek of the University of Copenhagen presented data indicating sperm counts had fallen by about a half over the past 50 years. Sperm counts in the 1940s were typically well above 100m sperm cells per millilitre, but Professor Skakkebaek found they have dropped to an average of about 60m per ml. Other studies found that between 15 and 20 per cent of young men now find themselves with sperm counts of less than 20m per ml, which is technically defined as abnormal. In contrast, a dairy bull has a viable sperm count in the billions.

Experts in human reproductive biology were astonished by the Danish study. The declining trend seemed to indicate that men were on a path to becoming completely infertile within a few generations (although recent studies suggest the fall in sperm counts may have bottomed out). Professor Skakkebaek could offer no explanation for the trend other than to suggest that the fall may have something to do with the equally alarming rise in other reproductive disorders, such as cancer of the testes and cryptorchidism, the incomplete descent of the testes into the scrotum.

Experts began to talk of a new phenomenon affecting the human male, a collection of disorders known as testicular dysgenesis syndrome. They wanted to know what was causing it, because the changes were occurring too quickly to be a result of genetics. It must have something to with changing lifestyles or the environment of men, and almost everything was suggested, from exposure to chemical pollutants to the modern fashion for tight underpants. There is now an emerging consensus among some experts that whatever it is that is exacerbating the problems of male infertility, it probably starts in the womb. It is not the lifestyle of men that is problem, but that of their mothers.

The process of sperm production, called spermatogenesis, starts in adolescence, but the groundwork is laid down in the few months before and immediately after birth. An increasing number of studies point to a crucial "window" of testicular development that begins in the growing foetus and ends in the first six months of life. Interfere with this critical developmental period, and a baby boy will suffer the lifetime consequences of being a suboptimally fertile man.

Read more: www.independant.co.uk

Check out sperm count using the fertilcount male fertility test

Shady Grove Fertility, the USA's largest fertility and IVF center, announces the opening of its Center for Fertility Preservation, offering the most advanced technology in egg freezing. The new technology "flash freezes" a woman's eggs until she's ready to conceive, and yields significantly higher pregnancy rates over older technology.

"A woman's ability to conceive is largely dependant on the age of her eggs," said Robert Stillman, MD, Medical Director of Shady Grove Fertility Center. "Fertility is naturally declining with age, but the chances of getting pregnant drop off sharply after age 35. By the time she reaches her early 40's there is only a very small chance of achieving a healthy, natural pregnancy and delivery."

Until recently, older egg cryopreservation techniques were yielding unpredictable results and lower pregnancy rates. For this reason, they have been used primarily as a last resort for women with medical complications that compromise their fertility such as those at risk for premature menopause or those about to undergo cancer treatment. The unpredictable outcomes prevented most fertility centers from routinely offering the technology to women who wanted to proactively freeze and store their eggs for future use.

The Center for Fertility Preservation, along with a handful of other fertility centers across the U.S., is now able to offer a new, more successful egg freezing technique known as vitrification. Vitrification is a flash freezing technique which protects eggs from injury during the freezing and subsequent thawing process. The latest experience at Shady Grove Fertility and other leading groups consistently demonstrates dramatically improved pregnancy rates as compared to outcomes when using the now outdated, slow egg freezing methods.

"While not a guarantee, the ability to proactively freeze eggs at a younger age can greatly increase a woman's chances of becoming pregnant with her own biological children well past the age of natural peak fertility," noted Dr. Stillman.

There are roughly six million unmarried women in the U.S. between 30 and 39 years of age, many of whom are faced with a difficult personal dilemma: have children before they are ready, conceive through the use of donor eggs or run the risk of never having children at all. Fortunately, for those whose childbearing is delayed for professional, personal, social or economic reasons the Center for Fertility Preservation now empowers women with alternate choice to preserve their fertility. By making the choice to freeze her eggs during her fertile years a woman is able to help safeguard her fertility potential for future use when the circumstances and timing are right.

About Shady Grove Fertility Center

Shady Grove Fertility Center is the largest and one of the most successful fertility and IVF Center in the United States, and has a strong reputation among patient and physician communities for ethical, sound and successful medical care. Shady Grove Fertility has pioneered a number of nationally and internationally recognized programs, such as Shared Risk 100% Refund Program, Shared Donor Egg, International Donor Egg, and Shared Help among others. Twenty-three reproductive endocrinologists, as well as PhD scientists, geneticists, and 350 highly specialized staff care for patients in 12 full-service offices throughout the Washington and Baltimore metropolitan areas. Shady Grove Fertility has extensive experience and success in all aspects of fertility and reproductive medicine, now including egg freezing and storage. Shady Grove Fertility conducts clinical research in collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and is part of their subspecialty training Fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology. Since Shady Grove Fertility's inception in 1992, more than 15,000 IVF babies have born to its patients.

Article 28th April 2010 www.medicalnewstoday.com

Should egg and sperm donors be rewarded with souvenir mugs and T-shirts? An independent think tank has launched a consultation to consider this and other wide-ranging ideas for increasing donations. The Nuffield Council on Bioethics will also canvass public and professional views on the consequences of allowing body tissues and organs to be openly sold and traded.

'There's a real demand for bodily material that's simply not being met. Demand significantly exceeds supply', said Dame Marilyn Strathern, professor of social anthropology at Cambridge University, who is leading the consultation working party.

Other ideas to be considered include: easing laws prohibiting the collection of eggs from dead people; helping recipients and donors to exchange thanks or tokens of appreciation; and improving technologies for saving organs and tissues from those who die outside hospital. According to Management in Practice, they will also look at 'presumed consent' systems, 'thank you' letters and certificates.

'Perhaps we should accept that we can only do so much to meet the ever increasing demand', said Professor Strathern in a Nuffield Council press release. 'We also need to think about the morality of pressing people to donate their bodily material. Offering payment or other incentives may encourage people to take risks or go against their beliefs in a way they would not have otherwise done'.

The consultation covers all donations - not just egg and sperm - including whole organs, blood, skin, corneas, bone and embryos from living and dead donors. It will also cover incentives for healthy people to enter clinical trials of new medicines. The Council's consultation period will run until 13 July and the working group's findings, including the results of the consultation, will be published as a report in the latter half of 2011.

Appeared in BioNews 555 26th April 2010

Read more about donating sperm

Pregnant women taking a daily multivitamin pill have bigger babies, a study shows. Taking the supplement cuts the risk of having low birth-weight babies, which can have health problems. This is the first study to show multivitamins specially tailored for pregnancy make a difference for women living in developed countries.

It was already known that the pills work in developing countries, where food may be scarce and diets lacking in nutrients. The study looked at the effect of multivitamins on 400 pregnant women with vitamin and mineral deficiencies living in East London.

During the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, half started taking Pregnacare pills. These contain 19 vitamins and minerals, including iron, folic acid and vitamin D. The rest had dummy starch tablets. After the babies were born, doctors found those taking the supplements had higher levels of iron, folate, thiamin and vitamin D.

Although iron levels fell in both groups, in late pregnancy 55 per cent of women taking dummy pills were deficient compared with 36 per cent of those on supplements. The most significant finding was that mothers taking multivitamins had fewer small babies. Eight out of the 88 babies born to women on supplements were considered small, compared with 13 out of 61 on dummy pills. Women on supplements had babies four ounces heavier on average.

Consultant obstetrician Pat O'Brien, of University College London, said: 'What happens in the womb can almost programme the baby for life.' Small babies are more likely to have breathing problems and develop jaundice, he explained. As adults, they are also more likely to suffer from obesity, diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.

It is cheaper to give specially tailored multivitamins to mothers-to-be than look after a baby in intensive care, added Mr O'Brien. The study, from the Institute of Brain Chemistry and Human Nutrition at London Metropolitan University and the Homerton University Hospital, is published today in the British Journal of Nutrition.

Pregnacare, made by Vitabiotics, costs £4.95 for a month's supply. Mothers-to-be are not generally advised to take supplements, with the exception of folic acid. The UK has one of the worst records in Western Europe for babies of low birth-weight relative to time spent in the womb. It is worse than Cuba and on a par with Romania at 8 per cent.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk

Read more about pre-conception vitamins

Lily-May Woods is barely three weeks old and already the circumstances of her birth have provoked curiosity. 'How did you two make a baby?' asked the bemused five-year-old boy who lives next door to the lesbian couple who are Lily-May's parents. 'I said that we went to a special clinic which helped us,' explains Natalie Woods, who is genetic mum to Lily-May. Similar questions will doubtless occur to her daughter as she grows up minus a father, but with two mothers.

Natalie, 38, and her partner Betty Knowles, 47, who live in a neat terrace house in Brighton, will be known as Mummy and Mama B. The couple made legal history this week, as they are thought to be the first same-sex parents in Britain to jointly sign their child's birth certificate. Under the provisions of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, which came into effect at the beginning of April last year, partners in same-sex relationships are now given equal status as parents. This means that in the box on the birth certificate traditionally reserved for a father's name, Betty's appeared. She was designated 'parent', while Natalie, who became pregnant through an anonymous sperm donor, is listed as 'mother'. 'I feel it's very important, both for my sake and our daughter's, that I'm recognised as a legal parent to Lily-May,' says Betty.

And the Act allows her to assume her parental responsibilities officially, with minimal fuss. Before, she would have had to go to court or would have faced the convoluted process of adopting Lily-May to have the legal status of a mother. 'We would have made sure Betty had parental rights and responsibilities either by seeking them through the courts or by adoption,' says Natalie. 'But as the law stands now it's very straightforward. 'We just had to sign a couple of consent forms that said we were entering into parenthood together. After that, it was simply a matter of us both signing the birth certificate.'

So, at the stroke of a pen, Betty assumed the title 'parent' and all reference to a father was erased. Which begs the question: how do Natalie and Betty justify their decision to bring up their adored baby daughter without a dad? They say they have addressed the issue between themselves exhaustively, and as Natalie points out: 'Even before the law changed, we wouldn't have been putting a father's name on the birth certificate, because we made the decision to use an anonymous sperm donor.

'A lot of lesbian couples choose to use a donor who is known to them. He would then be, technically under the law, the father. If he is also playing a role in the child's upbringing, I believe his name should be on the birth certificate. 'We talked about that, but decided not to use a known donor, mostly because there was no one in our lives who we considered suitable. 'Besides, you have to be really careful about the agreement you make with the man you use, so that everyone understands their role in the child's life, and we decided an anonymous donor would make it far less legally complex for Betty to assume her parental status.' But what of Lily-May? How will she fare without a father? It is the issue that exercises Christian groups and campaigners for traditional family values, and one every single-sex couple or lone mother must address.

'We decided to have a child without a dad, we can't deny that, but I don't think it's wrong,' says Natalie bluntly. 'There are plenty of kids brought up in both gay and straight families without dads. 'There are single mums; families where fathers have left; families where the dad has died - there are now so many different types of family out there and people should respect this diversity. We just have a different kind of "normality".'

It's different, not to say groundbreaking, given the historic nature of their daughter's birth certificate. 'I know people may criticise us for choosing to have a child without a dad, but for us, gender and sexuality are not what is most important. The most vital thing is to raise a child in a loving, stable home with the right moral values, whether it be with two mums, two dads, just one mum or one dad.' Natalie's justification is fraught with personal significance for a very particular reason: her Roman Catholic parents are estranged from her because of her sexuality. 'They are very disapproving of the fact that I'm gay,' she says. 'So there has been no contact with them since before Lily-May's birth. It's a great shame because they are losing out on a relationship with their new granddaughter.'

Natalie grew up, the middle of three daughters, in Manchester, but declines to talk further about her family, or the rift that has fractured it. She is a former nurse who has also worked with children in local authority residential care - an experience which has made her sharply aware of the damaging effect of abuse and neglect on children. 'There are lots of dads who don't do a great job raising their kids,' she says. 'In my profession I've seen quite a few of life's horror stories, and I know that Lily- May is going to get much more care and love than so many children in "normal" homes.'

Natalie, who manages a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender helpline while also working as a private counsellor specialising in fertility issues, is certainly eloquently well-informed on the subject of family diversity. But have they reflected on the impact of their partnership on their daughter as she grows up? They say they have considered every kind of question Lily-May might ask as she grows from childhood to adolescence - and nothing will be hidden from her.

'We will tell her how special she is and how much we wanted her,' explains Natalie. 'And we'll talk to her in a way that is appropriate to her age. 'Ultimately, it's about being honest and raising her in a way that allows communication.' But what will Lily-May's two mums say when their little girl asks why she hasn't got a dad? 'It's hard to say exactly what words we'll use,' concedes Natalie, 'But I think we'll tell her that all families are different; that we love each other very much and that we really wanted her, so we got some help from a clinic to have her. 'And we'll explain that's why she hasn't got a dad but has two mums instead.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk

This is the birth certificate that leaves the father off the official record for the first time in nearly 200 years. It shows only a mother and a ‘parent’ – also a woman – for newly-born Lily-May Betty Woods. The baby was born to 38-yearold Natalie Woods. The parent named on the form is Miss Woods’s partner, 47-year-old Betty Knowles.

There is no mention of the father, or donor, as the couple prefer to call the anonymous man whose sperm provided half of Lily-May’s genes through IVF treatment. It is thought to be the first recorded birth to two lesbians since a recent change in the law. Birth certificates were introduced 170 years ago and have always recorded the mother and father, if known.

The 2008 Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act paved the way for them for the first time to record two mothers – to the dismay of many Christian groups and campaigners for traditional family values. Until the law changed same sex couples could not put both of their names down for a child conceived by a donor. But the Act meant that children conceived after April 1 last year to same sex couples are entitled to have a birth certificate listing ‘mother and parent’. Traditional male and female couples continue to have birth certificates that list ‘mother and father’. Lily-May was born weighing 7lb 8oz on March 31 in a birthing pool at the terrace home Miss Woods and Miss Knowles share with two cats in Brighton.

Brighton Register Office told them they were the first to record a birth under the new legislation. Miss Woods said she and Miss Knowles wanted to make ‘the historical moment’ public. The couple, who intend to have another child, have agreed that as Lily-May grows up she will call Miss Woods Mummy, while Miss Knowles will be ‘Mama B’.

They also say their employers have been ‘very understanding’. Miss Woods works for a Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender counselling service while Miss Knowles is a delivery driver. She has had two weeks of what is still known as ‘paternity leave’ and two further weeks of parental leave. The couple have been together for 15 years, are engaged and expect to have a civil partnership in the near future. Miss Woods said: ‘We knew we wanted a child and that we were going to be together for ever. The only option was either through a donor or adoption, but It felt important to me to have a biological child.’ The couple selected the father from a choice of four. The men’s names were not given to them, but they were told details about their medical history and that of their parents.

They spent around £7,000 on IVF treatment as gay couples are not entitled to it on the NHS. When Lily-May is 18 she will be entitled, if she wishes, to discover who supplied the sperm. Miss Woods said: ‘We don’t even think of him as a father. He’s a donor, not a father.’ As to whether Lily-May will lack a male role model, Miss Woods says they have many male friends. Lily-May has no contact with her grandparents on Miss Woods’s side as they do not accept their daughter’s sexuality. Miss Knowles’s parents have both died. But the couple say they count many older women among their friends who are already like ‘grannies’ to Lily-May. Miss Woods added: ‘A child needs unconditional love and that is what Betty and I offer Lily-May in spades.’

Read more: www,dailymail.co.uk

Read more about looking for a sperm donor

They are divided by geography and share no family link.

But Claire Horner, Cheryl Richards and Cathy Sidaway are united by a very special bond: they have joined forces to have a baby. After battling breast cancer three times, Mrs Horner's dearest wish was to have a baby brother or sister for her four-year-old son, Jack.

But doctors warned her and husband Dennis that she should not fall pregnant again as it could raise the risk of the cancer returning. So in a remarkable case Miss Sidaway donated her eggs, which were fertilised using Mr Horner's sperm and Mrs Richards agreed to act as a surrogate to carry the baby.

Now Mrs Richards is more than 12 weeks pregnant, in what is thought to be a British fertility care first. Consultant gynaecologist and fertility specialist Mark Sedler, who is handling the case, said: 'It is the first time that we have had a situation like this where all parties know each other, yet are unrelated to each other, and there has been a successful ongoing pregnancy.'

Part-time magistrate and nursing sister Mrs Horner was just 37 when she was diagnosed with cancer after discovering a lump in her breast while on holiday with her husband, now 49. She underwent surgery to remove the lump, but the cancer returned for a second time a year later. At the time the couple, who live in Richmond, Surrey, were undergoing IVF treatment to start a family of their own but had to put their plans on hold.

'We never gave up on our hopes for a family,' said Mrs Horner, who is in her mid-40s. 'But I had to concentrate on trying to beat cancer for the second time.' This time she had surgery, followed by aggressive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and managed to beat the disease again. The couple then started IVF treatment again, using donor eggs.

Mrs Horner's eggs were not of good quality so there would have been no benefit freezing them before cancer treatment. To their delight Mrs Horner became pregnant with son Jack. But 30 weeks into the pregnancy came the devastating blow. The cancer had returned.

'I felt another lump in my left breast and I knew what it was straight away,' said Mrs Horner. 'This time I couldn't have any scans to see if the cancer had spread as I was still pregnant, so I had to spend eight weeks not knowing whether it had, which was terrible.' Jack was born in March 2006, and just a week later Mrs Horner underwent surgery for a third time to remove the lump. Fortunately scans showed the cancer had not spread, but the new mother had to endure more exhausting chemotherapy.

When Jack was nine months old they decided they wanted another baby. 'I didn't want to take any risks, as I wanted to be a mother to Jack,' said Mrs Horner. 'I couldn't put my life at risk by falling pregnant, so we decided to look into surrogacy.'

The couple were put in touch with Mrs Richards, 27, who wanted to act as a surrogate. They went to a clinic in Cyprus and had three failed surrogacy attempts, using eggs from an anonymous donor and sperm from management consultant Mr Horner. Mrs Horner said: 'It was devastating. Cheryl wanted to carry on helping us, as by now she had become a friend to us and she could see how much we wanted a baby'.

Then in March last year, Mrs Horner met business development manager Miss Sidaway, 30, at a health and wellbeing show in London, and they struck up a friendship. When Mrs Horner told Miss Sidaway, who doesn't have children of her own, about her search she volunteered her own eggs.

The three women went to the Care Fertility Clinic in Manchester to see Mr Sedler. Miss Sidaway, who lives in York, donated a batch of eggs, and then foster carer Mrs Richards, who lives in Cornwall with her husband Nick, 37, a delivery driver, and their four children, became pregnant on the second implantation attempt. Last night a delighted Mrs Horner said: 'We are just so thrilled that after all this time Cheryl is finally pregnant with our baby. 'We just can't thank Cheryl and Cathy enough for helping us - they have been such wonderful friends throughout our journey to have this baby. We couldn't have done it without them.'

Mrs Richards said: 'It's been an emotional rollercoaster for all of us, so when I found out I was pregnant I was over the moon.' Miss Sidaway added: 'I just wanted to help Claire and Dennis have another baby, and I never hesitated in donating eggs to Claire.'

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk

Read more about surrogacy and egg donation

The UK's first stand-alone clinic focused on recruiting new sperm donors, has announced its opening. The London Sperm Bank (LSB) - licensed by fertility watchdog, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) - will incorporate two existing sperm banks, the Louis Hughes Sperm Bank, and the London Women's Clinic's (LWC's) own bank.

'This significant partnership will provide hope to thousands of women who may otherwise struggle to find treatment with the current shortage of donor sperm', said LSB's scientific director Dr Kamal Ahuja.

The LSB aims to expand its current stock of approximately 10,000 sperm vials to provide a speedier service and wider choice to women seeking donors. It serves all the LWC's clinics at present, but hopes to broaden this scope to other HFEA-licensed fertility clinics in the UK by 2011.

'Our aim is to give women in the UK maximum choice without having to undertake expensive travel abroad', the LSB's website says. 'We support the HFEA's anxiety about women procuring sperm from non-licensed sources'.

The creation of the LSB is partly a response to the country's 'critical' shortage of donor sperm. In 2008, the British Fertility Society published a report on sperm donation which called for a 'national co-ordinated strategy' to improve the donor infrastructure in the UK.

The LSB believe one possible explanation for the current shortage of sperm donors is the impact of the removal of donor anonymity in 2005, requiring that men provide identifying information to the HFEA when they donate. Any children conceived using the donated sperm have the right to request the donor's identifying information at age 18.

The clinic has designed a somewhat provocative logo which Dr Ahuja says: 'has a directness and openess which we believe will bring the whole subject of donor insemination into the mainstream', and which aims: 'to get more men thinking seriously about becoming a donor'.

Men wishing to make a donation at the LSB must be fit, healthy males aged between 18 and 45 years.

Article By Sarah Guy Appeared in BioNews 553 12th April 2010

Read more about donating sperm directly to single, lesbian and infertile couples www.prideangel.com

Looking for a known sperm donor?

Dozens of human embryos with three parents have been created by British scientists, ushering in an era of designer babies. The embryos - which effectively have two mothers and one father - have been genetically engineered to be free from incurable muscle, brain, heart and digestive illnesses, some of which kill within hours of being born. The Newcastle University researchers say that within as little as three years, it could allow women whose families are blighted by disease the chance of bringing a healthy child into the world.

But critics say the breakthrough is a step on the slippery slope towards human cloning and erodes the sanctity of human life. The cutting-edge research centres around mitochondria - sausage-shaped powerhouses inside cells which turn food into energy to be used by the brain and body. Each mitochondrion has is own DNA which gives instructions on how to build and operate the powerpack, or battery, and is passed down from mother to child. Serious defects in this DNA affect one in 6,500 babies and cause around 50 genetic diseases, some of which kill in infancy. With no cure for the conditions, which include some forms of diabetes, blindness and heart problems, women carrying diseased mitochondria often face the heartbreaking choice of whether it would be kinder to remain childless. The scientists have found a way of swopping the diseased DNA with healthy genetic material, creating embryos free of mitochondrial disease.

The 'transplant' technique, which is described in the prestigious journal Nature, begins by using IVF techniques to fertilise an egg from a healthy donor. When the resulting embryo is just a few hours old, the 'pronuclei', or nuclear DNA from the sperm and egg are removed, leaving the healthy mitochondria behind. The would-be mother's egg is then fertilised with her partner's sperm and the pronuclei removed and popped into the donor egg. This creates an egg where the genetic material comes overwhelmingly from the prospective parents and the mitochondria are healthy.

If the method is successful, the disease should be eradicated from future generations of the family. Professor Alison Murdoch, head of the Newcastle Fertility Centre, whose patients donated eggs for the study, said: 'It would be hype to say we are going to get rid of mitochondrial disease but I think it's realistic to say you could get rid of it in an individual family.' Eighty embryos were created in the Newcastle labs, each effectively with three parents - two mothers and a father. A fourth parent - the man whose sperm was used to fertilise the donor egg - was involved, but none of his DNA was passed on. Some of the embryos lived for six days, before they were destroyed to comply with fertility laws, which also forbid such embryos from being implanted in a woman.

But updated fertility laws which came into effect last year leave the door open for the legislation to be amended, allowing the technique women to give birth to disease-free babies. Lead researcher Professor Doug Turnbull said that if this happened, the first babies could be born in as little as three years. 'What we've done is like changing the battery on a laptop,' said the professor, an expert on mitochondrial disease. 'The energy supply now works properly, but none of the information on the hard drive has been changed. 'A child born using this method would have correctly functioning mitochondria, but in every other respect would get all their genetic information from their father and mother.

'This is a very exciting development with immense potential to help families at risk from mitochondrial diseases. 'We have no way of curing these diseases at the moment, but this technique could allow us to prevent the diseases occurring in the first place. 'It is important that we do all we can to help these families and give them the chance to have healthy children, something most of us take for granted.' Sir Mark Walport, director of the Wellcome Trust, which helped fund the research, said: 'This is exciting research that could lead to the major clinical advance of preventing devastating mitochondrial diseases by curing the disease in fertilised eggs.'

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk

Read more about In-vitro fertilistion

A CRITICAL shortage of donor sperm has forced the state's largest IVF clinic to launch an online advertising campaign targeting male generosity.

Tougher restrictions on imported sperm has shrunk already scarce supplies while new legislation, which gives children the right to know the identity of their donor father, has seen a big decline in donor numbers.

Fertility experts said there were less than 10 registered sperm donors left in NSW, forcing many of the state's 24 IVF clinics to close the books on couples keen to conceive by donor insemination.

With tag lines "you've got millions to spare, we only need one" and "a donation to us won't save a life; hopefully it will create one", the online campaign will target websites.

IVF Australia said the ads were aimed at appealing to "men's generosity" as a donation could provide couples with the greatest gift, "a family of their own".

Article: Monday 12th April www.dailytelegraph.com.au

Read more about helping single, lesbian and infertile couples, by donating sperm.