In vitro fertilisation in the context of "Playing God (ethics)"

Lazzaro Spallanzani (Italian pronunciation: [ˈladdzaro spallanˈtsaːni]; 12 January 1729 – 11 February 1799) was an Italian Catholic priest (for which he was nicknamed Abbé Spallanzani), biologist and physiologist who made important contributions to the experimental study of bodily functions, animal reproduction, and animal echolocation. His research on biogenesis paved the way for the downfall of the theory of spontaneous generation, a prevailing idea at the time that organisms develop from inanimate matters, though the final death blow to the idea was dealt by French scientist Louis Pasteur a century later.

His most important works were summed up in his book Expériences pour servir a l'histoire de la génération des animaux et des plantes (Experiences to Serve to the History of the Generation of Animals and Plants), published in 1785. Among his contributions were experimental demonstrations of fertilisation between ova and spermatozoa, and in vitro fertilisation.

Insemination is the introduction of sperm (in semen) into a female or hermaphrodite's reproductive system in order to fertilize the ovum through sexual reproduction. The sperm enters into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an oviparous (egg-laying) animal. Female humans and other mammals are inseminated during sexual intercourse or copulation, but can also be inseminated by artificial insemination.

In humans, the act and form of insemination has legal, moral and interpersonal implications. However, whether insemination takes place naturally or by artificial means, the pregnancy and the progress of it will be the same. Insemination may be called in vivo fertilisation (from in vivo meaning "within the living") because an egg is fertilized inside the body, this is in contrast with in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

John Burdon Sanderson Haldane FRS (/ˈhɔːldeɪn/; 5 November 1892 – 1 December 1964), nicknamed "Jack" or "JBS", was a British-born scientist who later moved to India and acquired Indian citizenship. He worked in the fields of physiology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and mathematics. With innovative use of statistics in biology, he was one of the founders of neo-Darwinism. Despite his lack of an academic degree in the field, he taught biology at the University of Cambridge, the Royal Institution, and University College London. Renouncing his British citizenship, he became an Indian citizen in 1961 and worked at the Indian Statistical Institute until his death in 1964.

Haldane's article on abiogenesis in 1929 introduced the "primordial soup theory", which became the foundation for the concept of the chemical origin of life. He established human gene maps for haemophilia and colour blindness on the X chromosome, and codified Haldane's rule on sterility in the heterogametic sex of hybrids in species. He correctly proposed that sickle-cell disease confers some immunity to malaria. He was the first to suggest the central idea of in vitro fertilisation, as well as concepts such as hydrogen economy, cis and trans-acting regulation, coupling reaction, molecular repulsion, the darwin (as a unit of evolution), and organismal cloning.

Reproductive medicine is a branch of medicine concerning the male and female reproductive systems. It encompasses a variety of reproductive conditions, their prevention and assessment, as well as their subsequent treatment and prognosis.

Reproductive medicine has allowed the development of artificial reproductive techniques (ARTs) which have allowed advances in overcoming human infertility, as well as being used in agriculture and in wildlife conservation. Some examples of ARTs include IVF, artificial insemination (AI) and embryo transfer, as well as genome resource banking.

Italy has recognised civil unions since 5 June 2016, providing same-sex couples with almost all of the legal protections, benefits and rights of marriage. A bill to this effect was approved by the Senate on 25 February 2016 and by the Chamber of Deputies on 11 May. It was signed into law by President Sergio Mattarella on 20 May, published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale the next day and took effect on 5 June 2016. The law does not grant same-sex couples joint adoption rights or access to in vitro fertilisation. Before this, several regions had supported a national law on civil unions and some municipalities passed laws providing for civil unions, though the rights conferred by these unions varied from place to place.

Italy remains one of the last countries in Western Europe not to have legalized same-sex marriage. Polling suggests that a majority of Italians support the legal recognition of same-sex marriage.

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD or PIGD) is the genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation (as a form of embryo profiling), and sometimes even of oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD is considered in a similar fashion to prenatal diagnosis. When used to screen for a specific genetic disease, its main advantage is that it avoids selective abortion, as the method makes it highly likely that the baby will be free of the disease under consideration. PGD thus is an adjunct to assisted reproductive technology, and requires in vitro fertilization (IVF) to obtain oocytes or embryos for evaluation. Embryos are generally obtained through blastomere or blastocyst biopsy. The latter technique has proved to be less deleterious for the embryo, therefore it is advisable to perform the biopsy around day 5 or 6 of development.

The world's first PGD was performed by Handyside, Kontogianni and Winston at the Hammersmith Hospital in London. "Female embryos were selectively transferred in five couples at risk of X-linked disease, resulting in two twin and one singleton pregnancy."

Medical tourism in India is a growing sector within the country's economy. In 2022, India's medical tourism sector was estimated to be worth US$9 billion. Approximately 2 million patients visit India each year from 78 countries for medical, wellness and IVF treatments, generating $6 billion for the industry which is expected to reach $13 billion by 2026 and is backed by the Indian government's Heal in India initiative. According to a report from 2019 by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Ernst & Young, most of the medical patients arrivals in India were from Southeast Asia, Middle East, Africa, and SAARC region. India also receives significant number of medical patients from Australia, Canada, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The city of Chennai has come to be known as the healthcare capital of India.

To encourage applications and ease the travel process for medical tourists, the India government has expanded its e-tourism visa regime in February 2019. The maximum duration of stay under this visa is 6 months. Since 30 August 2019, foreigners can receive any medical treatment in India with the exception of organ transplants without a medical visa.

Positive pressure is a pressure within a system that is greater than the environment that surrounds that system. Consequently, if there is any leak from the positively pressured system, it will egress into the surrounding environment. This is in contrast to a negative pressure room, where air is sucked in.

Use is also made of positive pressure to ensure there is no ingress of the environment into a supposed closed system. A typical example of the use of positive pressure is the location of a habitat in an area where there may exist flammable gases such as those found on an oil platform or laboratory cleanroom. This kind of positive pressure is also used in operating theaters and in vitro fertilisation (IVF) labs.