The ethics of uterus transplants & doctor-assisted pregnancy
Gynecologist, Liza Johanneson
Yesterday, Doctor Münire Akar made history. She implanted a frozen embryo into a women with a transplanted uterus. Uterus transplants are very new ... so new that those women who have received them are still in in the stages of trying to make sure their bodies don't reject them. So this is the first time doctors have tried to impregnate a woman with a transplanted uterus. Doctor Akar says it's the result of a lot of earlier work.
In Sweden, researchers are also being patient and watching the medical procedures closely. Liza Johanneson is a gynecologist at the University of Gothenberg in Sweden. She has worked on uterus transplants in animals for 15 years. And she is now working on a pilot project to test uterus transplants in humans. Liza Johanneson was in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Dr. Jacques Balayla, University of Montreal
Now, there are no current plans to carry out such a transplant in Canada, according to Jacques Balayla, a doctor at the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Montreal. He was the primary investigator on something called The Montreal Criteria for the Ethical Feasibility of Uterine Transplantation. It's a 2012 paper that has helped guide the international standards for the surgery.
Panel: Arthur Caplan / Arthur Schafer
The possibility of a uterus transplant has given hope to some women who want to carry their babies themselves. But this level of medical intervention raises a host of ethical questions. We're going to explore those this morning as part of our project Line in The Sand, Dilemmas that Define Us.
Arthur Caplan is a medical ethicist at New York University's Langone Medical Centre. He was in Indianapolis. Arthur Schafer is a Director at University of Manitoba's Centre for Professional Applied Ethics. He was in Winnipeg.
This segment was produced by The Current's Pacinthe Mattar, Sujata Berry, Shannon Higgins and Farrah Richardson.
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Last Word - Perfume Promo
We ended the program today with a taste of something The Current's Liz Hoath is working on ... a story she was somewhat surprised to find herself pursuing. It is based on new EU rules that will drastically change the face of the perfume industry.
Other segments from today's show:
Could an accidental war between N. Korea & S. Korea/U.S break out?