Known colloquially as "three-parent IVF," mitochondrial replacement techniques are currently promoted to older women struggling with infertility without sufficient proof of efficacy. Although domestic laws forbid the procedure in the United States, an organized commercial sector directs European and American clients to clinics operating abroad. Following an eight-month investigative project into these marketing practices, reporters at STAT are soliciting testimonies from patients and practitioners to expose the inner workings of foreign providers.
Key points
Prospective patients are circumventing domestic bans on mitochondrial replacement by trav…: Prospective patients are circumventing domestic bans on mitochondrial replacement by traveling to foreign fertility clinics.
For-profit medical tourism networks continue to actively promote experimental procedures…: For-profit medical tourism networks continue to actively promote experimental procedures lacking strong scientific backing.
Investigators are seeking direct testimony from patients and healthcare providers to scru…: Investigators are seeking direct testimony from patients and healthcare providers to scrutinize international clinic operations.
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Over the last eight months, STAT has investigated the ways MRT is marketed as a fertility treatment for older women, despite scant evidence it works.
The procedure, popularly called mitochondrial replacement techniques or “three-parent IVF,” is illegal in the United States, but it is accessible via a sprawling for-profit tourism industry, connecting women in the U.S. and Europe to clinics abroad.
Do you have experience with MRT as a patient or practitioner? We are eager to learn, from people with direct knowledge, about how these clinics operate.
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