Storage trends, usage and disposition outcomes following egg freezing.

Research Question: What happens to eggs after egg freezing?

Design: A retrospective cohort study was performed spanning 2012-2022. Data were obtained from seven assisted reproductive technology clinics in Victoria, Australia. Aggregated, de-identified data were collected on cycles that resulted in egg freezing and the following outcomes, including treatment involving thawed eggs and disposition outcomes of surplus eggs.

Financing future fertility: Women's views on funding egg freezing.

Like other assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedures, the cost of egg freezing (EF) is significant, presenting a potential barrier to access. Given recent technological advancements and rising demand for EF, it is timely to reassess how EF is funded. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in Victoria, Australia and was completed by 656 female individuals.

Employer-Sponsored Egg Freezing: Carrot or Stick?

Since 2014, many companies have followed the lead of Apple and Facebook and now offer financial support to female employees to access egg freezing. Australian companies may soon make similar offers. Employer-sponsored egg freezing (ESEF) has raised concerns and there is academic debate about whether ESEF promotes reproductive autonomy or reinforces the 'career vs.

Do health service staff support the implementation of voluntary assisted dying at their workplace?

Background: On 29 November 2017, the Victorian Parliament passed the Voluntary Assisted Dying (VAD) Act 2017, which came into effect on 19 June 2019.

Aims: To investigate whether staff from a large regional health service support the legalisation of VAD and the implementation of VAD at their workplace.

Methods: Staff were invited to complete an anonymous online survey comprising both closed- and open-ended questions.

Cracked open: exploring attitudes on access to egg freezing.

Egg freezing (EF) technology has improved significantly over the last decade, giving women more choice over their reproductive futures. Despite this advance, EF brings forth contentious ethical and regulatory issues. Policies controlling access to EF vary around the world and there is a lack of consensus about who should have access and what criteria are relevant in making these decisions.

Assessing research capacity in Victoria's south-west health service providers.

Objective: To investigate the research interest, capacity and culture in individuals, teams and health organisations across south-western Victoria.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Eight public health services in the south-western region of Victoria.

Patient-centred care through a broader lens: Supporting patient autonomy alongside moral deliberation.

Patient-centred care (PCC) is an essential component of high-quality healthcare and shared decision-making is its cornerstone. Yet, integrating the principles of PCC into healthcare practice is not always straightforward and shared decision-making can be complicated and ethically demanding. While ethicists and academics routinely debate moral aspects of clinical care, such discussion among clinicians is less overt.

Developing clinical ethics support for an Australian Health Service: A survey of clinician's experiences and views.

Background: International developments suggest that providing clinical ethics services to help clinicians negotiate ethical issues that arise in clinical practice is beneficial and reflects best practice in promoting high ethical standards and patient-centered care. The aim of this study was to explore the needs and experiences of clinical staff members to inform the development of future clinical ethics support.

Methods: Health professionals at a large regional health service completed an online survey containing questions about the frequency of ethical and legal issues encountered in clinical practice, the type of situations that gave rise to the ethical and/or legal uncertainty or concern, how clinicians currently address these issues, and what support would be welcome.

Optometrists' perspectives on cross-cultural encounters in clinical practice: a pilot study.

Background:   There is growing awareness that cultural background influences health beliefs and practices and can impact on the patient-practitioner encounter. However, in relation to optometry there is little known about the implications of cultural diversity for clinical decision-making and how optometrists address culturally based understandings of health. This pilot study examines how culturally based differences in health practices and beliefs impact on patient-optometrist interactions and how optometrists negotiate and manage these differences.

How to facilitate decisions about surplus embryos: patients' views.

Background: In Victoria, Australia, legislation governing fertility treatment provides that surplus human embryos must not be stored for longer than 5 years. Couples must then choose one of three options: discard, donate to research or donate to another infertile couple. Previous research suggests that many people find these decisions difficult and emotionally distressing.

Genetic ties: are they morally binding?

Does genetic relatedness define who is a mother or father and who incurs obligations towards or entitlements over children? While once the answer to this question may have been obvious, advances in reproductive technologies have complicated our understanding of what makes a parent. In a recent publication Bayne and Kolers argue for a pluralistic account of parenthood on the basis that genetic derivation, gestation, extended custody and sometimes intention to parent are sufficient (but not necessary) grounds for parenthood. Bayne and Kolers further suggest that definitions of parenthood are underpinned by the assumption that 'being causally implicated in the creation of a child is the key basis for being its parent'.

Spare embryos: 3000 reasons to rethink the significance of genetic relatedness.

IVF laws in Victoria, Australia provide that human embryos must not remain in storage in excess of 5 years. Studies reviewing the fate of surplus human embryos reveal that close to 90% of couples choose to discard their excess embryos and that hundreds of embryos are disposed of annually. It has been argued that human embryos are a valuable resource and that there is a need to consider educational programmes to encourage couples to donate spare embryos to other infertile couples, rather than discard them.

Fatherless families: how important is genetic relatedness?

How should families be constructed? Does it matter if we choose to ignore 'blood ties' and raise children without their genetic parents? The debate over a recent court ruling allowing single and lesbian women access to assisted reproductive technologies (ART's) illustrates two possible answers to this question. Many of those opposed to the ruling argue that the traditional biological family is the natural family unit and the ideal family form, which should be preserved. Amongst those in favour it is argued that families are not defined by nature but culturally constructed, that the traditional biological family is just one possible family form and that the way families are arranged is a matter of personal preference.

Frozen-thawed epididymal spermatozoa for intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Objective: To report the fertilization rate and pregnancy results for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) cycles using frozen-thawed epididymal spermatozoa.

Design: Retrospective analysis of consecutive ICSI cycles.

Setting: Tertiary referral center for infertility.

Neutrophil-derived adhesion molecules in human digital ischaemia and reperfusion.

In order to see whether leucocyte-derived adhesion molecules are involved in ischaemia and reperfusion, the total and differential leucocyte counts and expression of the LFA complex i.e. CD11a/CD18 (LFA-1), CD11b/CD18 (Mac-1) and CD11c/CD18 (p 150,95) were monitored before and after standard cold and heat tests in 8 females with Raynaud's Disease and 8 matched controls.

Clinical results from intracytoplasmic sperm injection at monash IVF.

The impact of a modification of the intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) technique on fertilization and pregnancy rates was examined in a retrospective analysis of 171 consecutive ICSI treatment cycles (156 patients). Patients were selected for ICSI on the basis of severe oligoasthenozoospermia (65 patients) or following conventional in vitro fertilization (IVF) with failed or poor fertilization (70 patients). Seven patients in which epididymal or testicular sperm was used, 10 patients with sperm antibodies and 4 patients with retrograde ejaculation or who required electro-ejaculation were also treated with ICSI.

Microinjection: choice of embryo transfer technique.

Subzonal sperm microinjection (SUZI) is indicated in severe oligoasthenozoospermia, in which the total count of motile sperm is inadequate for in vitro fertilization (IVF), and in cases with repeated failure of fertilization. Sperm for microinjection are selected following centrifugation on a Percoll gradient and stimulation with pentoxifylline and 2-deoxyadenosine. Motile sperm (2-10 per egg) are injected into the perivitelline space and fertilized oocytes are then cultured for two days prior to transfer into the Fallopian tube (tubal embryo stage transfer, TEST) or uterus.

Severe osteomalacia due to gluten-sensitive enteropathy.

This report discusses a severe case of osteomalacia due to gluten-sensitive enteropathy: it stresses the clinical features and describes an atypical form of gluten-sensitive enteropathy, in which gastroenterological symptoms were absent. Wasting and osteomalacia causing skeletal deformation with spontaneous fractures were observed in a 31-year-old woman who had marked hypophosphoremia, a tendency to low serum calcium levels and slight multi-deficiency anaemia. The patient was in a state of depression.