Pros And Cons Of Ex-Vivo Uterine Development Therapy

As defined by the researches and scientists who have pioneered the technique, Ex-Vivo Uterine Development Therapy is the use of “an artificial placenta to provide gas exchange and nutrient delivery to a fetus submerged in an amniotic fluid bath” (Miura et al. 2015). However, scientists speculate that for the humans of the future, it can mean much more than that. Ex-Vivo Uterine Development Therapy, more commonly known as EVE therapy, is being particularly developed for sustaining the breathing and continuing the development of premature babies, who experience severe risks for infection and even death once they leave the womb. This isn’t the only proposed use, however, as scientists have also expressed that the life-altering technology could

Like incubation, the process that EVE therapy is being designed to replace, their are a few inherent drawbacks with developing human fetuses outside of their mother’s womb. Today, a great number of babies that continue their development in incubators often experience many physical and psychological conditions that have the potential to affect them for the rest of their life. They are also constantly at risk for deadly infections due to the early exposure to the outside world. The main issue that plagues babies sustained in incubators, and one which can undoubtedly affect babies sustained with EVE, are neurological disorders. This is because a large portion of brain development in the uterus depends on a mother’s interactions with her developing child. Children sustained using incubators also lose the biochemical interactions between the mother’s uterus and themselves, which aid the developing child in growing and even sleeping. However, studies have shown that incubated children that receive frequent interactions with their parents benefit considerably compared to those that do not (Yuko 2017). Although this argument exposes what seems to be a legitimate flaw against EVE therapy, it is important to remember that EVE therapy is still in its early stages, and still has many years of research and development to go before it can be used on human beings. With the pace that technology is advancing at, there is no reason to believe that EVE therapy could not be adapted to mimic maternal biochemical secretions, among other