When I was fifteen years old, I experienced one of my most unforgettable memories My mother got pregnant thanks to the In Vitro Fertilization method. Later, my mother went to a local clinic to track her pregnancy regularly, and my little brother was diagnosed with Down syndrome, which is related to physical growth delay and verbal disabilities. My whole family was anxious as we heard of this news. Fortunately, as the In Vitro Fertilization method proceeded, the doctor announced that the disordered gene which causes Down syndrome was eliminated. When my mother went to another clinic, she was told that her embryo was healthy without a doubt. Finally, my little brother was born normally. 

Genetic modification is regarded as a direct process to control genetic systems by utilizing biotechnology. Genetic engineering is divided into two main subjects, namely Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) and In Vitro Fertilization. GMOs focus on the study of modifying plants and animals' organisms to gain a better quality of food and feeds (Blair 3) whilst In Vitro Fertilization can be defined as a reproductive method in which eggs and sperms are fertilized outside the human body. In more detail, there are seven fundamental steps which every patient who utilizes In Vitro Fertilization treatments must undergo, namely "stimulation of ovulation, ovarian puncture, retrieval of oocytes (puncture), fertilization of the ova, culture of embryos, and the transfer of embryos to the uterine cavity at last." The additional step is to store fetuses' oocytes by keeping them frozen, which is commonly known as germ cells (Wdowiak 1). People are more exposed to chemicals, pollution and many reasons that cause the remarkable increase of infertility rates in recent days. For example, based on the 2016 survey, the proportion of the infertile rate in Canada went up between 5.4 percent in 1984 and 15.7 percent in 2011. Moreover, if it hadn't been for In Vitro Fertilization procedure, my little brother might had suffered from Down-syndrome, as the first doctor said. Thus, In vitro fertilization is extremely beneficial to the development of human beings because the number of infertile people decreases, and people get healthier offspring without diseases.   

The first advantage of In Vitro Fertilization is to encourage infertile people in the ability to have biological children of their own. At a closer look, an article shows the common situation and the trend of infertility rates in both developed and developing countries from the 1990s to 2012. The number of couples increased from around 42.0 million in 1990 compared to about 48.5 million in 2010 owing to the population growth (Mascarenhas 1). Based on the report, due to the growth of population, the number of couples who are unable to conceive has been rapidly increasing recently. In addition, not only do female and male couples need to take benefits from the application of In Vitro Fertilization, but it is also useful for  same-sex couples who obviously cannot get pregnant and bear babies of their own by natural conception. A typical example is the story of Natalie Woods and Betty Knowles, who are from Brighton, England. They were very happy when Knowles got pregnant through In Vitro Fertilization treatment and gave birth to their baby girl named Lily five years ago. She light-heartedly said: "What’s important is that there are either one or two big hearts filled with love for your children” ("Huge Rise in IVF"). For many couples who are lesbian and gay couples, conceiving might sound impossible before the discovery and the application of In Vitro Fertilization treatment. However, nowadays these couples' wish to have their biological children literally comes true thanks to this procedure. Another story addresses single mothers: Elizabeth Pearce who is forty years old, lives in Kent, England and now has her two-year-old son named Leo, were capable of becoming a single mother although she could not get in relationship with any men. She believes that In Vitro Fertilization is such a great solution to fulfil her desire because the most crucial step she had to do is paying £900 for unknown donor sperms, instead of being involved in a romantic relationship with someone. She made a claim that "In an ideal world, Leo would have had a dad but that’s not the way things worked out. Single women have as much right to a child as couples" ("Huge Rise in IVF"). In other words, it is undeniable that In Vitro Fertilization is a means to support the equal rights for all people who are whether single mom or same-sex couples. It is because both groups of couples who have normal functioning reproductive systems and infertile people are given opportunity to give birth to a child thanks to the advantages of In Vitro Fertilization.    

Besides the allowance for all people to conceive, In Vitro Fertilization reduces some diseases from the development of embryos outside of human body that means that the embryo's genes are modified. Put it simply, PGD is known as preimplantation genetic diagnosis, is a procedure of In Vitro Fertilization that screen embryos to determine signs of seriously gene mutations prior to the step of shifting them to female’s uterus. PGD triggers the reduction in pregnancy loss and some inherited diseases are eradicated from the development of embryos. By doing this work, doctors can identify deadly gene mutations, and a child’s genetic destiny can be saved (Hughes). 

Some people argue that it is unnecessary for couples to rely on PDG in order that early embryos' condition is tested. If PGD is carried out, additional costs must be paid, but it is not worth it to carry out the treatment when embryos are capable of developing normally and females who conceive naturally. For example, even though the miscarriage rates in patients with PGD made up between 0 and 10.2%, while those who choose natural birth ranges from 37 to 62%, but the live rates of embryos between PGD and natural conception are indifferent (Ikuma 9). This is the reason why people are not willing to spend a huge amount of money on PDG.   

Although some argue that PGD might be unnecessary for all couples, it is good to diagnose for all people to have healthy offspring, especially those who take advantage of In Vitro Fertilization because some inherited diseases are eliminated from the beginning development of embryos. A best illustration for this point is an interview was made between Dr. Mark Hughes, a scientist in reproductive genetics areas and leading expert in this method (PDG), who gives information that PDG have the capacity of recognizing and removing dangerous diseases: Muscular dystrophy, Sickle-cell anemia, Hemophilia, Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Breast or other cancers (Hughes). There are a few things need to know that all mentioned diseases cannot be cured, and most of them lasts during the lifetime. In addition, they are known as a group of inherited diseases, which means that their condition is highly transmitted to the patients' offspring. Thus, PGD is the best method to eliminate the inherited diseases as abnormal genes are removed in the selection process. Similarly, an experiment was carried out in China to prove that the HIV virus could be taken out of human beings’ fetuses by using genome editing methods between 2015 and 2016 ("Genetic Engineering Will Change Everything Forever-CRISPR"). Thanks to In Vitro Fertilization, people would be healthier as the diseases of civilization are eliminated, such as obesity, coronary heart diseases, and cancer cells. It is clear that offspring become more perfect because of their developing physically healthier. 

It is undeniable that In Vitro Fertilization is beneficial for infertile patients to have their own child. Nonetheless, the high price of In Vitro Fertilization treatments globally is considered as the main barrier to keep people from taking it. According to research from BMC Health Services, the cost and the successful fertility rates between one developing country and one developed country, namely Turkey and the U.S, are compared and contrasted. In other words,"the successful pregnancy rate for Turkey and USA should be about 37.7 and 25.5 % respectively. Using the average cost of $8,500 and $12,400 in these two countries, cost per successful case becomes about $22,500 in Turkey and $48,600 in the USA. If the success rate in Turkey reduces by 10 %, the cost-effectiveness ratio will become $25,000 in Turkey." (Yildiz 6,7). Another typical example of this issue is the price of In Vitro Fertilization per cycle in Ontario (Canada). The cost for women who are under 35 years old is $17,919 for each treatment, and those who are between 35 and 39 could afford the treatment if they spend around $27,500. The highest price is about $104,000 for women who are 43 (Gulli 49). Based on the data, the older a female patient is, the higher the price of In Vitro Fertilization becomes. With regards of females who are over 40 years old, they have to pay around six times more than those who is younger than 35 years old.  Furthermore, in the case of 40-year-old women who are not only old, but also poor, they are obviously unable to seek for biological children of their own. Instead, in order to have babies despite being poor, financial aids need to be offered to poor infertile couples. Nonetheless, some public health institutes intend to cut down on financial supports to these couples in order that they are unlikely to have In Vitro Fertilization as the price is still high. For instance, the National Health Service, the largest public health services in England, cut back the funding for In Vitro Fertilization patients so that one in six patients could not afford to apply In Vitro Fertilization treatment (Nargund). Hence, this reproductive treatment is no longer available for everyone because the patients had to spend a lot of money for each treatment as well as financial assistance for infertile patients on low incomes, which is reduced by social health services. An argument could be stated that although In Vitro Fertilization costs are cheaper in Turkey than in the U.S. and Canada, it is not worth spending thousand dollars on the treatment with the aim of having biological child of their own.  

There is a truth that the price of IVF is extremely expensive. However, according to two fertility scientists from the UK, Pek Joo Teoh and Abha Maheshwari, there are some reasonable suggestions to make In Vitro Fertilization treatments more affordable for all people who are in need of getting pregnant. Taken from their report, the first suggestion is "simplifying investigative methods", which means that scan machines with high resolution should be thrown away, as there is no demand for advanced technological tasks, such as three-dimensional images in the reduction of unwanted sperms, which cause the possibility of infertility. Instead, making use of a light microscope can lead to the large difference in the whole prices of In Vitro Fertilization. Moreover, most fertility clinics are not aware of international standardization so that the failure rates of In Vitro Fertilization are unlikely to be reduced. Thus, patients might pay twice or more in order that they conceive successfully. The best solution to solve this problem is that staffs who work in laboratories and clinics must be required to obey this standardization. Second, the author suggested how to lower the cost of ovarian stimulation, which is the second step of In Vitro Fertilization with the intention to harvest mature eggs from the female's ovaries. The effective way to reduce the price is to avoid using expensive drugs as it makes up the majority of expenditures, even though the successful pregnancy rates still remain. A study carried out in 2001 asserts that: "...involving 52 women with a total of 181 cycles of treatment revealed that natural cycle IVF has a cumulative probability of pregnancy of 46% and a live birth rate of 32% after four cycles of treatment". Whereas, by using cheaper medications, In Vitro Fertilization would turn into common techniques. Last but not least, the complications of In Vitro Fertilization should be kept to a minimum. In other words, many patients mainly take account into fertility centers with high levels of fertility rates. They, nevertheless, should focus on another factor, such as the rates of multiple pregnancies. The article provides a piece of information to prove the mentioned above idea: "In the United Kingdom, it has been shown that 56% of the direct cost of IVF pregnancies is associated with multiple pregnancies after IVF. The total direct maternal and infant costs per IVF singleton family is only £3,313, in comparison with £9,122 per IVF twin family and £32,354 per IVF triplet family; the cost related to triplet pregnancies is almost 10 times the cost for singleton pregnancies."(Teoh and Maheshwari 819-824). If patients are on a tight budget, they are better off choosing single embryo transfer. As long as these suggestions are applied, fertility medical centers and patients are able to decrease the cost of In Vitro Fertilization treatments. As a result, the procedure becomes more affordable for all people to take advantages.  

In conclusion, it is obvious that In Vitro Fertilization plays an important role in human reproductive systems, since it enables infertile and same-sex couples, and single mothers to have their biological child. Otherwise, their desire to be mothers and fathers of their own children are not fulfilled. This procedure also eliminates inherited and dangerous diseases, which means that future generations of human-beings could grow in a better physical condition. On the other hand, in spite of the benefits of In Vitro Fertilization, there is still growing concerns about its high cost and the uselessness of PDG. To deal with the cost issue, three rational suggestions are introduced above, such as, restricting unnecessary machines, replacing cheaper medications, and making a choice of singleton born. Considering the role of PDG in In Vitro Fertilization, infertile couples should be acknowledged that PDG is used to identify signs of diseases and eradicate them from embryos before it is transferred into uterus.  
