Issues in debate around setting an age limit for IVF
Context: A 74-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh was recently recorded as the oldest in the world to give birth to twins through in-vitro fertilisation or IVF.
However, the medical community has expressed ethical and medical concerns over conception at such an advanced age.
Why this is a concern?
The average life expectancy of an Indian woman is 70 and of a man 69, and the medical community has expressed concerns over future of children born to such an elderly couple. There are complications that can risk human life.
Concerns associated:
Pregnancy in old age poses multiple risks — hypertension, diabetes, convulsions, bleeding, and cardiac complications to name a few.
The womb of an older woman has to be prepared by injecting hormones for the foetus to grow for nine months. Also, a woman of that age cannot breastfeed.
How is it regulated?
Globally, an estimated 15% of couples are infertile.
- The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2010, states that in the Indian social context, children are “old-age insurance”.
- The Bill proposes the upper age limit at 45 for women and 50 for men to undergo the IVF procedure.
- As of now, several centres rely on ICMR’s 2017 guidelines that recommend the same age limits.
- Even for adoption, the total age of the couple must not exceed 110 years.
- With increasing life expectancy, doctors are in talks with the government to increase the IVF age limit to 50-52 years for women.
- Until then, several experts self-regulate, some counsel senior citizens to drop the idea, and others refuse them IVF treatment.
Sources: the Hindu.
