Medical ethics glossary Flashcards
Fertility treatment
Medical treatment to help an infertile couple to have children.
IVF
In vitro fertilization.
Conception is when the egg and sperm meet and in IVF this is done in a test tube and the resulting embryo is then implanted into the woman’s womb.
In vitro - means “in glass” referring to the test tube in which the baby is created.
Test tube baby
The term used for a child created by IVF.
The first IVF baby was Louise Brown, who was born in July 1978 using a technique developed by Dr. Patrick Steptoe.
Artificial insemination
Sperm is medically inserted into the vagina to assist pregnancy.
AIH
The sperm used in artificial insemination belongs to the woman’s husband.
AID
The sperm used in artificial insemination belongs to a donor.
Surrogacy
A baby is created using IVF and implanted into another woman’s womb
Or
The woman is artificially inseminated with another woman’s partner’s sperm.
Donor cards
Cards carried by people that give doctors permission to use the person’s organs for transplant if they die.
Blood transfusion
When a person is given extra blood as part of an operation.
Human genetic engineering
Altering the gene make-up of an embryo to change the features of the human.
Embryology
The study of human embryos.
Embryo
The fertilised egg at 12-14 days when it is implanted into the wall of the womb.
Designer babies
Babies whose gender and characteristics are chosen by their parents. This is currently illegal.
Stem cell
A cell taken from a 4-5 day old embryo whose role in the body is yet to be determined and which can be used to ‘grow’ cells that can be used for treatment of the sick.
Saviour siblings
A brother or sister that is implanted and born in order to provide stem cells for an existing sick child. The child that is sick may for example have an inherited disease that could be treated be stem cells from a sibling.
