Issues in debate around setting an age limit for IVF

GS-IV: Issues in the debate around setting an age limit for IVF

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A 74-year-old woman from AP was recently recorded as the oldest in the world to give birth to twins through in-vitro fertilization or IVF. The medical community has expressed ethical and medical concerns over conception at such an advanced age.

Why this is a concern?

The average life expectancy of an Indian woman is 70 and of a man 69 and the medical community has expressed concerns over the future of children born to such an elderly couple.
Medical technology has reached a stage where we can get even a 90-year-old pregnant. But there are complications that can risk human life.
Pregnancy in old age poses multiple risks hypertension, diabetes, convulsions, bleeding, and cardiac complications to name a few.

Can a doctor face action?

Internationally this pregnancy is being condemned. Everything could have gone wrong. It sets a wrong precedent for said doctors' organizations.
Several experts have demanded punitive action, saying the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) should deregister his Andhra Pradesh centre.
But with no law in place, or a Bill pending the assisted reproductive technology (ART) industry continues to operate in a grey zone.
In 2005, when ICMR drafted guidelines for ART, it had not set an age limit keeping in mind that reproductive rights were a fundamental right for a woman.

The Assisted Reproductive Technologies (Regulation) Bill, 2010

Globally, an estimated 15% of couples are infertile.
The ART Regulation Bill, 2010, states that in the Indian social context, children are “old-age insurance”.
The Bill proposes the upper age limit at 45 for women and 50 for men to undergo the IVF procedure.
As of now, several centres rely on ICMR’s 2017 guidelines that recommend the same age limits. Even for adoption, the total age of the couple must not exceed 110 years.
With increasing life expectancy, doctors are in talks with the government to increase the IVF age limit to 50-52 years for women.

Laws in other countries

Most countries have a low range and an upper limit for IVF between 40 and 50 years.
In the US, the upper limit for IVF is 50, and for ovum donation, 45.
In Australia, guidelines prohibit IVF beyond menopause (52 years).
In the UK, 42 is the age limit for women to seek free insurance under National Health Service. In Canada, the age limit is 43.

Source: Indian Express

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