TheBiologySpace.BioBlog

When it comes to artificial insemination I do think that some sort of screening should be placed on all sperm. I think that a mother has the right to know if the sperm being inserted in her carries possibilities of an abnormal child because as a single mother sometimes such lfiestyles are hard to cope with. Even though im sure the mother would love the child the same it just does not seem right that one man who sells his sperm for insemination create such a debockle for hundreds or so people out there when it could be stopped.

Ah. I thought autism was a disease that affected a person’s ability to interact as well as their intelligence? Is there research going on to ease the symptoms for this? I didn’t know there were different degrees of severity for autism. I guess you learn something new every day, eh?

Autism is a brain disorder, right? If the vaccination does cause autism while the brain is still developing, then it shouldn’t be administered until the person is about 20-25, right? What is an MMR vaccine? Does it have any effects on the brain? The lawyers or advocates don’t have a solid basis if there is no testing going on, right?

If autism is indeed genetic, then shouldn’t sperm be screened? Or the donor? It would make sense to do it. If all the women’s babies developed autism, that’s pretty serious.

I think that all men should be screened for diseases, regardless if they think it’s pointless or not. They aren’t the ones raising the child or anything. They’re just donating the material to work with. I think it should be done no matter what. It’ll be easier for the parent if the child is born healthy.

MMR = measles, mumps, rubella.

The impracticality of giving the vaccine when the person is older is that many children are exposed to these diseases as children. They are often fatal, especially in places where medical care is limited, poor or absent altogether.

I definately think that sperm donors should be scanned for detrimental diseases. As for the practicality of scanning, I’m sure that it may make the process of sperm donation a bit more tedious, and may discourage some men from donating their sperm, but I really cant think of any limitations that may pertain to scanning them

I found the statement about children with austism having average to high intelligence intersting. I’ve noticed that in the few people i do know with autism that they are actually extremly smart!! They just have trouble communicating how they feel and expressing their problems. I find it amazing that someone with a dissorder has such high intelligence. It actually seems common to me that a person with autism is highly smart when it comes to book smarts…is there a reason for this?

It’s only logical for a man’s sperm to be screened and medical history to be checked before using his genetic material to make another human being. Whether it’s more expensive to do so shouldn’t be a detriment to making sure the children produced through artificial insemination develop healthily. Not just any man walking down the street should be allowed to “donate” sperm (don’t they get paid?); facilities should be more selective to ensure the mothers and children are safe.

i believe autism is caused from vaccinations. vaccines are always changing for “improvement.” As time has progressed the rates of children getting diagnosed with autism has increased.

I believe that a screening process for sperm donors would be a great idea. It is practical and overall beneficial. It can and would hinder the spread of hereditary diseases.

If autism is found to be linked to genomic regions then it is an inherited gene or mutation within the genes and the theory of autism because of vaccinations can be thrown out. Perhaps the gene is activated by a protein in the vaccine but the vaccine could not of passed autism directly to the body. The theory of transfer through vaccination has only survived because people would rather believe in something ficticous than not know the reason why their loved one(s) are plagued by the disorder.

I do not think the sperm donors should be scanned for potentially deadly/ disabling genes in their genomes. Not only would it make the cost of artificial insemination more expensive than it already is, how many couples when they decide to have a baby of their own have their genes looked into? The women who use sperm from the sperm bank should know they are taking a chance and should be informed on those risks but the chance of having a baby for the woman or couple should override any challenges the baby might be diagnosed with.

I do think the babies who are born from sperm banks should be followed up with to ensure the babies are healthy however the parents like all parents should know that having a child is like spinning the lottery, you never know what genes they will turn out to have.

I think that screening the sperm makes perfect sense. I woman wouldnt have sex with just anybody (hopefully), she would pick and choose becuase of characteristics that appeal to her. It is instinct. The same goes with sperm.

If I were the one needing a donor, I would certainly want to know what kind of defects or diseases the donor has. These women aren’t asking for a disabled child or to be burdened with stress, medical expensis, and other difficulties that may come with genetic defects. It is true that most mothers love their child “no matter what”, but the fact that the father isn’t even a part of the lives makes it unjust for the mother and family to go through something that could be avoided.

Well there definitely seems to be a genetic component to autism. Whether the components only contribute to the development of autism or if they actually cause it seems to be the problem to solve now. Sperm donors should probably be screened for potentially deadly/disabling genes if the cost isn’t exorbinant. If it is expensive then family histories may have to suffice.

A man should definitely be screened before donating sperm. However, I understand why this may be a hesitant action because what if the male was unaware of flaws in his own genome? And if he was carrying a deadly trait that hadn’t showed up yet, would that affect his life insurance? I don’t really understand why women would just want to take the risk of a random man giving her semen. It would seem logical that even if a woman didn’t have a husband or perhaps if her husband was unable to provide semen, wouldn’t she want to *scope* out an individual who is donating sperm? If privacy is an issue, I think the donar should be screened, yet their information should be kept highly protected and they should remain anonymous.

Autism is certainly not caused by the environment they grow up in. So many children diagnosed with autism have gone through extensive therapy and have controlled it somewhat but have never actually cured it. Good Morning America did a story a few weeks ago about a girl that had autism and couldn’t communicate what so ever but then discovered how to type on a computer and that is her means of communication. They discovered she was actually very smart just could not articulate it like an average person. The vaccines may have caused it but I wonder why it hasn’t effected every child.

Sperm ‘donors’ should be screened. At the least the screening should be a detailed family history. It would probably be best to include a genetic test though. If it is too costly then some of the money for funding can be taken out of any money the ‘donors’ would receive.

I agree with the majority, the sperm donors should be screened. If artificial insemination is expensive, then why should a couple have to go through more hardship if the child is born with special needs that may financially stressful. I’m pretty sure that the parents will love the child no matter what, but why give them more strain. I actually always thought that sperm donors were extensively screened before they were allowed to donate sperm, like when you donate blood, for you don’t want someone who has HIV donating blood to a blood bank. Same concept, you don’t want someone who may have a gene for a disorder in a sperm bank. If the cost of artificial insemination would increase then they should do what Kaston Murrell said and have some of the money for funding taken out of any money the donors would receive.

I have had the opportunity to work with a special needs child with autism for four years now and what i observe is decreased social interation, delayed reaction to various things like throwing a ball up for him to catch. i belive that the enviorment has an affect on the severity of the disease but the gene itself is the gas that fuels the fire. This child im with is very intelligent and picks up on alot of things. stephen out

I’ve always been curious as to what the symptoms are of this disorder, because I think I may know someone who is possibly slightly autistic. I heard from somewhere that autistic children have trouble mimicking people around them when they are babies-for example, when a mother puts her hand on her nose, a normal baby might mimic their mother and do the same, while an autistic child doesn’t think in the same manner. I think it’s neat how intelligent these children are even though they suffer from a disorder. Also, I was wondering what they do to help/treat these children.

Many problems could possible arise from a reproductive medical system that allows almost any man to donate sperm for artificial insemination. Genetic diseases can unknowingly, and even worse, cognizantly be passed down to children. Many cancers can also be passed down in families. Not literally passed down but it may be common in the family.

i feel sorry for the child. but i dont understand how the baby could get autism from a vaccine. if they have average to high intelligence then how can you say there brain stopped working

i think sperm donors must be screened for all deadly/disabling genes. i thought they already do that. i guess not. i dont how prtical we can be at this moment. because when we found a problem then only start looking for a remedy so this might take while.

I wonder why, if autism is caused by vaccines, that more of us don’t have it. I mean, I know that the gene could have an operon that allows for it to be repressed or allowed to be transcribed but even so, many more people would have this disorder if in fact it was caused by vaccinations.

Well Ferg, I’ve found my nobel prize idea. =)
I’ll solve the mystery behind autism and I’ll identify the operon that turns the repressor on and off to activate the gene transcription.

How many other children have developed autism after receiving the MMR vaccine? If this is the only case, than I don’t think it was the vaccine.

Is there something in vaccines that is also present naturally in our environment? I don’t know if the Autism gene acts like an operon, but what causes it to appear whenever it does?

The first view I have about the issue of screening sperm in banks is to approach it like any other donor scenario. Blood and organ transplants are meticulously tested and matched to recipients in order to secure the best chance for success. So if we extend this to sperm donations, then we should definitely screen sperm.

Continuing the theme of screening, lets extrapolate a few years and say that we incorporate genomic mapping techniques as discussed in an earlier post. Well then under the justification of matching sperm donors to women for optimum chance of success, people may start choosing donors not just for blind compatibility but for specific traits as well. That’s a hop skip and a jump away from custom baby-making in my book. I’m iffy on sperm banks as it is (discussed below), but there definitely exists a line not to be crossed at custom baby-making.

Alright I typically try to respond to posts without incorporating my personal religious/ethical views, but here I can’t resist. Pregnancy where one of the partners is intentionally unknown doesn’t jive with me. Now I can say that without justifying it anymore to myself but below is a secular train of thought for your reading enjoyment.

Say we have an organ bank and a sperm bank. Same in theory right? Wrong, and here is why: in the organ bank, anonymous donors are trying to help prolong life. In a sperm bank, anonymous donors are usually trying to make money, and inadvertently may or may not make life. That right there is not a choice to be made lightly kids. As for the woman’s right to an opportunity to have kids, well and good, but the kid has a right to know where all of him comes from, doesn’t he?

I saw a 2020 on how there is a new diet that supposedly can help autistic people. A famous scandolous model tried it with her child and the results were positive? I wonder if the diet is somehow related to the “blood type diet” in that it is specific to increasing/decreasing certain chemicals in the body?

All men should be screened for disease when donating their sperm to a sperm bank. The sperm should also be tested before the female gets artificial insemination, no questions asked, If the man is a potential carrier for any kind of disease, autism is a perfect example, there have been so many examples of women who have gone through artificial insemination’s kids having autism.

You know when i first saw this article and read this part about the vaccinations causing autism, was a weird finding. But after thinking about this and doing my own research there are many cases of kids getting autism after getting the MMR vaccine. So maybe there is a slight chance that certain vaccinations can cause autism in kids.

You know I really am finding an great intrest in autism, I really think that it is neat that these kids are so “book” smart, but lack the skill to communicate with other people. Before reading this artcle and doing some independent research i really thought that autistic kids weren’t very smart along with their lack of people skills, well obviously I was wrong. I am really fascinated by the brain and what something that comes so easy to one person can be hard for another.

Because genomic regions were found that give evidence to support the theory of Autism having a biology genetic cause, we can safely say that the vaccine wasn’t the only cause of Autism in the child. However, environmental factors can still play a huge part in the development of a mental illness. The environment can act as a trigger that activates already existing predisposition for a disorder already mapped out in a person’s genes

I think it’s very important that sperm donors be scanned, ot only for the safety of the fetus, but for the mother, because many abnomalties end in stillborn or problems that also endanger the mother. But, this is not incredibly practical because of the money involved. At this time, it might be more beneficial to just require a background check for relatives that have a genetic disorder, until technology becomes so that a screening is cheaper and more available.

I think that autism is a physchological problem to which the only cure is therapy.

Personally I dont understand why men didnt get screened for these types of things initially. That should be one of the first concerns of any hospital and it donors.

I guess I am unsure as to how a vaccination would be thought of as a cause of autism. Do they believe that it was cause a mutation in the gene? If vaccinations are supposed to build defenses, unless it was a defense against autism, how could it develop?

It makes me uneasy as to why screening isnt already done. Shouldnt the doctors and most definitely the women accepting the sperm want to know if the donor carries or has a heritable trait that could be of danger to the child. It is only common sense to think that this should be done.

If the same sperm gave different women babies with autisitic kids, then it probably genetical. But it could also be that just that male has some defect in him that produces babies with autism.

Well its just common sense to screen a man for potentially deadly/disabling genes. If we can avoid having people giving sperm that could have babies with problems than we should. But yes the question is that people who have mental disorders are still people, so why screen if they are also just people why does it matter. But if it can be avoided, then why not.

They are so different, i know three people who have austism, and each are very different. One of them is very socail and seemed more normal than the other. He just had certain things about him that were different but pretty normal. But some of them are much more different than non autistic people. As for a super genius kid who is autistic i have not met one.

sperm donors should most definantly be screened for potntially deadly or disabling genes in their genomes. becuase the single women that accquire artificial insemination shouldn’t have to worry about the sperm that they are getting.

i think the sperm bank should be more careful with the types of people that they allow to donate becuase if they have a harmful genetic disease then i don’t think anyone who gets sperm from these institutions would want their child to have it.

It would be very complicated to test the gene of the embryo each time a person had a baby. However, when sperm is donated, this is a great opportunity, because not only is the sperm going to many babies rather than just one or two, it is easier to test at this stage. They should do anything possible to make sure the sperm donor is in the fittest possible condition in terms of genes. Plus, the last person who can afford to have an abnormal child is a single mother.

The fact that autism is incurable, i think, shows that the root cause of autism is physiological and not psychological. Because if it were psychological, at least some people should be curable, and some therapy would probably work. But if it is physiological, then perhaps a medicine could some day cure autism. The question of whether autism is genetic or not is another question. I think that it is more likely genetic.

like i said earlier i have worked with and autistic child for quite some time and i have had a great experience with him and i have a question for all you guys out there looking for some blog posting: If you knew what could potentially happen if you gave someone you loved injections, common ones such as small pox flu and what not would you do it if it were to reduce the chances of them gettin it?? just a thought and a blog Stephen out

I think there may have been something that was lying in wait in the child’s genes that triggered autism as a result of her MMR vaccine. However, the vaccine as a CAUSE of autism leaves me highly skeptical.