The advent of information system has initiated the transformation of various aspects in the society. Some of the progressions experienced in the society are associated with the changes experienced in the medical and healthcare industries. Reproductive technology is one of the typical representations of the advancements that have been initiated by information technology. Reproductive technology entails the applications of technology in animals and human reproductive processes (National Institute of Health, 2013). Reproductive technologies entails complex and sophisticated surgical and medical procedures that enhance the reproduction process. These technologies are administered by healthcare experts and the type of technology applied on a patient depends on the condition of the patient and the facilities available.
The most common reproductive technologies applied in the medical industry today include Intrauterine Insemination (IUI), In Vitro Fertilization and the Third Party Assisted reproductive technologies. Intrauterine insemination is the artificial placement of sperms into a woman’s reproductive system. The sperms are placed into the uterus by the use of tubes that are long and narrow in order to initiate the reproduction processes (Gettig, 2014). The application of the IUI is critical to the treatment of women that have very special condition that may inhibit the natural sperm placement processes. Some of the conditions for the application of the technology include the women that have cervix defects, men that cannot get erections, men with low mobility of the sperms or a small quantity of sperm counts.
The technology can also be applied in the cases of men that release the sperms into the bladder instead of them coming out of the penis. The application of the IUI technology is used alongside various medical procedures that initiate the ovulation in the women to increase the chances of conception. On the other, the chances of the success of the technology are also dependent on the physiological deformities that lead to the use of the technology and the expertise of the specialist that administers the technology.
In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) describes a technology whereby the reproductive sperms and eggs are taken from couples and then incubated through artificial means. Medical experts put the embryos into the uterus of a woman and thus leading to implantation leading to pregnancy. IVF entails the stimulation of the maturation of and from a female through the use of the right medications. The medications that lead to the production of the eggs are injected into the women (Gettig, 2014). The mature eggs are then removed from the ladies by the use of the appropriate medical procedures and then taken to the laboratory for the fertilization process to take place. The fertilization is them followed by embryo transfer in order to provide appropriate conditions for the development of the embryo (National Institute of Health, 2013). The embryo is inserted into the uterus of a woman through the vagina. The whole procedure sis usually painless and the embryo is given sufficient time to develop while implanted in a woman’s womb. Therefore, The IVF technology is also applied as a reproduction alternative for couples that experience fertilization challenges through the natural mating process.
Third party assisted reproductive technologies can also be used to assist couples with challenges even after the fertility treatments. Some of the most common third party assisted reproductive technologies include sperm donation, egg donation and the use of surrogates and gestational carriers. Sperm donation is applied when a man cannot give sperms or produces very little sperms that cannot facilitate the reproduction process. This can be caused by physiological and genetic diseases and the sperms acquired can be acquired through IVF or intrauterine insemination (Gettig, 2014). The technology assists the men to have donations from other men who have the ability to produce sufficient amounts of sperms that can enhance fertilization. Egg donation is used in situations where the women cannot give eggs that can be fertilized in the reproduction process. The donors of the eggs undergo medication to stimulate the production of a mature egg and ovulation. The egg can be fertilized and then implanted in the woman for its development. The infertile women and the ones that cannot produce viable eggs are the most common individuals that are assisted by this technology. Women that are not able to carry pregnancies can use the carriers to carry the pregnancy for the required periods of time. The embryo is implanted into the carrier and then allowed to develop for the required amount of time (National Institute of Health, 2013).
Therefore, reproductive technologies are very important towards enhancing the reproduction process. This is because the technology is applicable for the people that have various reproduction challenges through assisting them undergo the reproduction process (National Institute of Health, 2013). The technologies also provide viable medical intervention that increase the quality of the medical procedures that can enhance reproduction among the victims. Therefore, the reproduction technologies enhance the quality of life of the victims by assisting them continue with their reproduction lives besides their physiological and genetic challenges (Gettig, 2014).
The reproductive technologies are also associated with numerous negative impacts on the victims and other parties involved. Some of the disadvantages of the technologies is that they are very expensive because they require sophisticated medical attention. As a result, the changes of failure are also very high despite the application of complex medical expertise and procedures (Gettig, 2014). The technologies also increase the chances if irregular reproduction processes for the victim. For instance, they can lead to increased occurrence of ectopic pregnancies and thus putting the lives of the victims in danger. The technologies can also cause multiple pregnancies for the victims without sufficient preparation.
- Gettig, E. (2014). Family Planning and Assisted Reproductive Technologies. Graduate School of Public Health University of Pittsburgh. Available at http://www.hdsa.org/images/content/1/1/11430.pdf
- National Institute of Health, (2013). Assisted Reproductive Technology. US Department of Health and Human Services. Available at https://www.nichd.nih.gov/health/topics/infertility/conditioninfo/Pages/art.aspx
