Mother Donates Eggs To Seven Year Old Daughter

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Canadian Girl Could Give Birth To Her Own Half Sister Or Brother

A seven year old girl born with the rare fertility disorder, Turner Syndrome, has received donated eggs from her mother. The eggs will enable the girl to give birth to her own biological half-sister later in life.

Turner Syndrome affects one in 2,500 female births. Those with the condition have very few of their own eggs and reach menopause extremely early with the result that by the time the want to raise a family they are often infertile.

You can read more about TURNER SYNDROME at Babies Worldwide

What Melanie Says 

Melanie Boivin a 35 year old lawyer from Montreal, Canada decided on this unusual step because she figured that by the time her daughter, Flavie, reached child bearing age the waiting lists for donor eggs will have increased dramatically.

Before agreeing to transplant the eggs from mother to daughter fertility specialists at the university referred the case to an ethics committee, which approved the procedure. However in later life if Flavie wishes to use the eggs, she will need to seek approval from another ethics committee before her treatment can go ahead.

Although genetic, Turner syndrome is not usually directly inherited, Flavie's younger sister Clara is not affected.

Mrs Boivin said that she had been considering the donation for a whole year, had researched it on the internet and discussed it with her partner. Both Mrs Boivin and her partner expressed concerns about the ethical questions involved.

"What made us sure was the fact that I was there to help my daughter. If I could do anything in my power to help her I had to do it and because of my age I had to do it now.

"I told myself if she had needed another organ like a kidney I would volunteer without any hesitation and it is the same kind of thought process for this."

Melanie said her daughter would be the real mother as she would be caring for the child.

"I do not want to oblige her to use the eggs; I want to give her the option."

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What The Experts Say: 

Should Flavie decide to use her mother's eggs, her chances of giving birth will be good, says Seang Lin Tan, the fertility expert at McGill University in Montreal who treated Boivin. Turner syndrome does not affect the womb, meaning that it should be possible to implant an embryo after in vitro fertilization (IVF)."The chances of carrying a baby to term are very high," Tan says, adding that doctors should screen the embryos for the Turner syndrome abnormality.

Professor Tan said they had asked for the advice of an independent ethics committee.

"The ethic committee agreed to it because the mother giving to a daughter is out of love and it is up to the daughter and partner in future years to decide whether to use the eggs or not.

Health News From The BBC 

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The Ethics 

But ethicist Margaret Somerville said reproductive technologies fail to take into account the consent of the unborn child.

Children of anonymous donors who don't know their biological parents have condemned the process, Somerville noted.

"We have to think about what we are doing when we are running around nature. Giving birth to your own sister completely screws up the normal transition of life," Somerville said

But University of Toronto philosophy professor and moral scholar Wayne Sumner disagreed.

"When it comes to donor gametes, it is "irrelevant" who donates the eggs", Sumner said. "I don't see it as all that significant - the scrambling of generations. I don't have concerns about whether it's natural or normal".

"It's a little odd for (Boivin), who will have both a child and a grandchild simultaneously, but people wrap their heads around these things."

This article was brought to you courtesy of Babies Worldwide an online resource for new and expectant mothers. Babies Worldwide is part of worldwide-infomedia services

Directory of US egg donation programs 

For a complete directory of egg donor agencies and infertility clinics, click here

University of Arkansas Egg donation program

Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility
InVitro Fertilization and Embryo Transfer (IVF/ET) Program
Little Rock, Arkansas
Egg donation and recipient program

Center for Fertility and In Vitro Fertilization
Loma Linda University
Loma Linda, California
UCSF Center for Reproductive Health

The UCSF Ovum Donor Program began in 1991 and was one of the first programs of its kind in the Bay Area.
San Francisco, California
Donor Egg Program

Reproductive Science Center
San Francisco, California
Egg Donor Program

Colorado Center for Reproductive Medicine
Denver, Colorado
Yale University Fertility Center

Yale University Medical Center
New Haven, Connecticut
The Egg Donor Program

The Egg Donor Program
Studio City, CA 91604

Egg Donor Program

South Florida Institute for Reproductive Medicine
Three offices in South Florida
South Miami, Pembroke Pines, and Palm Beach

Have Your Say 

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Like this story? Want to share your feedback, or just give a thumbs up?

stickytabby wrote...

Hi..Great lens you have there!..Talking about babies and all that..I'm having one soon! I have similar resources you might find interesting. Check these out -
Baby Girls Names | Baby Resources | Baby Information
Grumbles of a Pregnant Woman | Stages of Pregnancy
Baby Development | Baby Names | Baby Resources | Baby Center
Jessica Alba's Baby | Celebrity Baby Names

ReplyPosted July 25, 2008

Lensmaster

vanessacollinson

As a woman I don't think I'd go down that road but then who knows what you would do if you really wanted a child. I trust that if Flavie does decide to use her mothers eggs that the child will not be the one to suffer; asking the questions is she my mum or gran, is she my mum or sister

ReplyPosted July 04, 2007

gpower2llc wrote...

Pretty interesting stuff Kevin. Thank you.

ReplyPosted July 03, 2007

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