There is good news for aspiring parents unable to have children. Thanks to research, test-tube baby technology is set to go under `16,000 per treatment cycle capable of delivering reproductive results compatible with the conventional in-vitro fertilisation programmes.
Further, babies born through new low-cost technology adapted in the United States, Britain and Belgium also carry the promise of being in good health as they would have been screened in their embryonic stage for genetic defects.
The world has just seen the birth of the first “designer” baby through this revolutionary technology that should soon sweep developing countries because of the low cost factor. Scientists are empowered in their ability to identify implanted embryos that would offer the greatest chance of success in terms of a woman conceiving and the mother becoming happier with the guarantee of a healthy baby. The moral point to ponder is whether man is playing God in designing babies without birth defects.
Over five million births have been recorded since IVF techniques were perfected around 1978. The question is whether our planet can sustain the population growth that will get a further boost by advancement of science. The earth is heading swiftly towards a population of over 10 billion, and an unprecedented environmental crisis is staring us in the face by the end of this century.