Rovereto Conference Focuses on Infertility Causes and Reproductive Tech
“Infertility in couples”, is the theme of the conference taking place today in Rovereto, in the main hall of the hospital, starting at 9 am, organized by the head of obstetrics at Santa Maria del Carmine, Dr. Manfred Camper, and the head of the Città di Brescia Clinical Institute, Dr. Carlo Castaldi.
Infertility is a problem that troubles as many as 20% of young couples in Rovereto. What are the causes of infertility? We asked Dr. Camper, the chief specialist.
“In recent years, male infertility has increased, partly because in the past it was mainly the woman being examined, but now the man is also included in the diagnosis. The causes of infertility are difficult to pinpoint; we can only speculate, such as stress, exposure to harmful substances like alcohol and smoking, or genetic factors.”
Why a conference in Rovereto?
Because the issue is also felt here. Daily, we meet couples we cannot help. Currently, a laboratory has been established where the initial diagnosis is made, but then we are forced to refer them outside the province. In short, there is an increasing need to intervene.
In South Tyrol, there are four centers. In Trentino, there isn’t even one. The purpose of the conference is also to raise public awareness and to keep the attention of the Health Authority focused on this issue, which it has shown interest in addressing.
Perspectives on artificial conception
So, will there soon be discussions on artificial fertilization in Rovereto? We hope so. Trento or Rovereto. Nonetheless, I am convinced that by the end of the year, the project will start in one of the centers.
Today, there is no law regulating this sector. With the Wild West of unregulated in-vitro procedures, how does Rovereto plan to position itself? Well, the long-awaited law is about to be enacted. We eagerly await it, especially since the subject is particularly delicate and the matter needs proper regulation.
Reproductive techniques and ethical rules
Which reproductive techniques will be used? Reproductive techniques are divided into intracorporeal and extracorporeal. Intracorporeal fertilization occurs inside the female organ without laboratory intervention. Extracorporeal fertilization involves the meeting and fertilization of egg and sperm outside the female body, in a lab.
The Fivet method involves fertilizing multiple embryos, but not all are implanted into the woman’s body. It is known that unused embryos are stored in liquid nitrogen and destroyed after five years. This raises several issues, both biological, such as multiple pregnancies, and ethical, regarding the destruction of embryos.
“That’s true. Regarding multiple pregnancies, it’s quite critical. More than three embryos should not be implanted if one wants to do a proper job; this would avoid such problems. Concerning the ethical issue, it’s not really a problem because we will preserve in nitrogen not more than embryos, but oocytes retrieved from the woman, and spermatozoa separately,”
And what about the possibility of using donor embryos? That’s also a thorny issue! The new draft law prohibits it, but we will address this with a new technique that, should spermatozoa be lacking in the male semen, involves retrieving them directly from the testes.
