Medical Innovation in IVF: Technological Advancement in the Age of Evidence-Based Medicine

• In Event: Innovating Reproduction and (Re)Generating Parenthood Possibilities: Critical Studies of New Technologies

Abstract

40 years after the birth of the first baby conceived through assisted reproductive technology, IVF has emerged as new field of medicine, with approximately six million individuals born so far. The early work of IVF professionals represents a “pioneering” milestone in the development of modern medicine, acknowledged by the Nobel Prize awarded to Robert Edwards in 2010.
Since its introduction, ongoing research and clinical practice has aimed at discovering new aspects of infertility and advancing IVF technologies, treatments and success rates. However, against their frequent use in clinical practice, many of the additional treatments offered to IVF patients on top of their main treatment are based on a small or conflicting body of evidence. The UK discussion surrounding IVF add-on treatments, often offered at an additional cost, has become defined by increasingly normative evidence paradigms, which present them as unproven treatments sold by fertility clinics to vulnerable patients.
Exploring the case of the add-ons controversy in the UK, we examine the path of medical innovation in IVF. Based on extensive ethnographic data collection, (observations in IVF labs, interviews with professionals) and document analysis, (medical literature, manufacturer and clinic websites, public documents), we analyse how recent discussions have become focused on the lack of “sufficient” and “robust” evidence while there is no discussion on the lack of consensus in standards for evidence-based medicine in IVF. We conclude by discussing how dominant techno-scientific paradigms can affect future policy directions, treatment options, and the public's understanding of IVF treatments.

Authors

• Manuela Perrotta, Queen Mary, University of London

• Alina Geampana, Queen Mary University of London