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Improving Mitochondrial Replacement Therapy

In a study published today (June 8) in Nature, researchers at Newcastle University in the U.K. and their colleagues report having improved upon the pronuclear transfer technique, increasing the number of viable zygotes produced and reducing the number of defective mitochondria transferred along with nuclear DNA to the donor cell.

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B.C. Families Sue U.S. Sperm Bank After ‘Genius’ Donor Turns Out to be Felon with Mental Health Issues

A sperm donor billed as a genius turned out to be a convicted felon with serious mental health problems, according to lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court.The man who donated sperm to two Vancouver families so that they could have children through artificial insemination was falsely characterized and improperly screened.

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The Donor Talk: When Kids Have a Sperm Donor

All three of our kids were conceived using sperm from the same anonymous open donor. We had a lot of reasons for choosing our donor, ranging from the frivolous (like me, his favorite sports team is the Red Sox and he loves mint chocolate chip ice cream), to the more practical, such as traits we hoped would make way into our kids (intelligent, artistic, and athletic). Ultimately, we chose our particular donor because he sounded a lot like me, physically and in terms of personality. Even though I knew my kids would not be genetically related to me, I was hoping I might see myself in their eyes if I chose a donor similar to me.

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What Is IUI?

Intrauterine insemination is a fertility treatment that’s minimally invasive and less costly than in vitro fertilization (IVF). It’s used for several key reasons. In particular, it’s used in cases of sluggish, or slow moving sperm, donor sperm, and unexplained infertility, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Additionally, Resolve, The National Infertility Association noted that IUI is ideal for women who find sex painful or undesirable, but still want to have a live birth.

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Crystal Lake Couple Creates Family with Help From Frozen Embryo Donations

The Felices’ three children were conceived at the same time, but they’re not triplets. Faith, 6, and Matthew and Michael, both 4, belong to Jamie and Dan Felice, a couple who struggled to have children before being matched with a donor through a group that collects unused frozen embryos. They received six embryos. Two pregnancies later, their family is complete.

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Sperm Donor Lied About Criminal and Mental Health History, Lawsuit Alleges

He was handsome and healthy, with several degrees and a genius-level IQ. On paper, Donor 9623 embodied the best genetics had to offer. At least 36 children were born using his donated sperm. According to a lawsuit filed by three families, it took almost 14 years before the donor’s true identity was revealed: A schizophrenic college dropout with a felony conviction.

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NBC News exclusive: Uterine transplant couple speaks out

A Texas couple hoped to make history by delivering the first baby in the United States using a donor uterus. The procedure was part of an experimental program at the Cleveland Clinic. But a common fungal infection caused the surgery to fail unexpectedly only a few hours after Lindsey McFarland was introduced as the patient.

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How Far Away Is Human Cloning?

Human cloning is a very complicated issue, but it seems that scientists are currently bound more by ethical than technical issues. How do you get medical consent for a clone when the clone doesn’t even exist yet? What are the rights of clones? Are they the property of the genetic donor? These are some of the highly controversial questions coming in the not-so-distant future.