lynne smit

My Infertility Journey is a short documentary that follows BBC Mundo journalist Ana Mariá Roura and her husband Sebastien as they go through a round of IVF as part of their efforts to have a child. The documentary, available on BBC iplayer, opens in silence, as statistics in white on a black screen explain how common infertility is, and, while IVF is the most used technique to address this, how low the success rate is.

Until recently, common knowledge (backed by solid evidence) was that, while the level of anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) in a woman's blood indicates the number of eggs remaining in her ovaries, it does not predict current or future fertility. Then, in 2024, a study published in a reputable journal (see BioNews 1276) appeared to challenge this as it concluded that low levels were 'independently associated with a modest but significant reduction in the chance of conception'.

Four Thai women have returned from a human egg 'farm' in Georgia where more than 100 others may be held captive. The women were allegedly recruited online to become surrogates in Georgia, as part of a scheme run by a Chinese gang. One of the victims, identified only by the pseudonym 'Na', was able to return to Thailand after paying a ransom. She alerted the Pavena Foundation for Children and Women, who prompted the effort to rescue the remaining women.