Risks according to IVF: Ethician finally demands information for couples!

Risks according to IVF: Ethician finally demands information for couples!

Wien, Österreich - Vienna, February 17, 2025 - A striking anniversary is imminent: Ten years after the amendment of the Austrian reproductive medication law, alarming questions remain on the health risks of artificial fertilization. The ethicist Susanne Kummer, director of the Institute for Medical Anthropology and Bioethics (Imabe), calls for more information about the potential dangers of the IVF (in vitro fertilization). "It is worrying that ultimately there is no comprehensive information about the health and psychological risks, as well as the long -term consequences of artificial insemination," said Kummer. Studies show that children who have been created by IVF have a higher risk of premature births, low birth weight and innate heart defects.

A central problem is the lack of a register for sperm donors and egg donors, which makes it difficult to identify their biological parents. While progress in this area has already been made in Germany, the development in Austria is stagnating. In addition, the "Baby Take Home Rate" in Austria is sobering with 20.7 percent of public institutions. This means that the vast majority of the women concerned go home despite a stressful procedure and financial expenses without a child, as Kummer emphasizes. At the same time, a study, published in the Jama Network Open journal, showed that children who were born according to IVF have around 30 percent higher risk of birth errors compared to their naturally created peers. The risk of developing cancer in childhood is even twice as high, reported Barbara Luke from the Michigan State University.

dangers and unanswered questions

The scientists of the study said analyzed comprehensive birth dates and determined significant differences in terms of health risks. Open questions about the responsibility of parents in the event of undesirable results, possible age factors and the effects of the IVF remain on health, while storage in nutrients is also increasingly being viewed. Earlier studies indicated that the procedures can cause epigenetic changes in the genome of children. Kummer emphasizes that it is urgently necessary to create more transparency about these risks. After all, between 2018 and 2023 around 111 million euros of the state went into the IVF tests, while the number of frozen embryos in Austria is currently 51,156