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Hi All:
I just saw something on TV about new ways of getting females pregnant. It was on PBS and it was about new ways become moms. One of the ways they talked about was creating healthier babies by removing chromosomes and replacing with others. I thought if somehow the sperm of a male chromosome could be put into an egg with no chromosomes.
Also, I heard that a little girl had a windpipe created with her stem cells, so I wonder if you could 'grow' a uterus from stem cells. I bet it wouldn't be a science-fiction as would be 50 years ago, but If you could would you like to be a mom?
By the way, Chapter 3 of Summer Girl will talk about this. i just wonder how you would have a child?
Comments
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"if somehow the sperm of a male chromosome could be put into an egg with no chromosomes." Do you mean a 'YY' configuration? If so I doubt it would be viable, I think it would need information only stored in the 'X' chromosome to work. There are documented cases of 'XYY' where there is an extra male Chromosome. Most of the ones they've FOUND (they're rare enough finding them in the general population would be hard) are in jail due to overly aggressive & antisocial behavior. The extra 'maleness' makes them more likely to become rapists, killers, and swindlers who take anything they want without regard for others.
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As I said, I saw it on PBS and they were talking about removing a donor's chromosomes from the egg...and put the 'mom's Chromosomes into the egg (the mom was an older female, so a 20ish female donated eggs to a clinic. unfortunately, I lost the URL to the PBS show for info. I hope I'll find it. It was interesting, I I would love to take my chromosome (except the Y) and put it into an egg... that only had a Y. I hope someone's is doing it!!
TGSine --958
What you described....
Sounds more or less like taking an egg from a fertile donor and substituting the chromosomes from another woman to create a fertile egg for her. This is possible even with our current level of technology. However, the issue lies in getting the proper chromosomes from the second woman.
We can and have removed the nucleus (which contains the chromosomes) from a cell and replaced it with the nucleus from another cell.
However, as was already explained, a human egg cell, unlike all other non-reproductive cells, has only 23 chromosomes. What we have done is to swap the nucleus with the nucleus of another egg cell, which also contains only 23 chromosomes. You need two fertile egg cells to do this.
I have never heard of any instances where anyone has managed to separate out the proper 23 chromosomes from the normal 46 contained within a non-reproductive cell and implant them into a fertile egg cell.
Also, you can not implant the chromosomes from a sperm cell into an egg cell - well, actually you can, but it's called fertilizing the egg. You might be able to replace the egg cell chromosomes with the chromosomes from a female sperm cell as they are essentially similar, but I doubt it would work from a male sperm cell. Something that I'm sure has been tried somewhere in the world, but I doubt that kind of research could be done in the US due to the laws here. A large portion of our population is too busy thumping their bibles to contemplate allowing that to happen.
Don't get me wrong - I am a Christian, but I also believe that any type of fundamentalist beliefs lead to a dark place that is ruled by ignorance and hatred.
Dallas
D. Eden
Dum Vivimus, Vivamus
Where did you get your info?
http://www.rarediseases.org/rare-disease-information/rare-di...
Summary
XYY syndrome is a rare chromosomal disorder that affects males. It is caused by the presence of an extra Y chromosome. Males normally have one X and one Y chromosome. However, individuals with this syndrome have one X and two Y chromosomes. Affected individuals are usually very tall. Many experience severe acne during adolescence. Additional symptoms may include learning disabilities and behavioral problems such as impulsivity. Intelligence is usually in the normal range, although IQ is on average 10-15 points lower than siblings.
Introduction
In the past, there were many misconceptions about this disease. It was sometimes called the super-male disease because men with this syndrome were thought to be overly-aggressive and lacking in empathy. Recent studies have shown that this is not the case. Although individuals with XYY syndrome have an increased risk for learning disabilities and behavioral problems, they are not overly aggressive, nor are they at an increased risk of any serious mental illness. Because these boys are at a higher risk for having learning disabilities, they may benefit from speech therapy, tutoring, and general awareness of the specific issues they struggle with. Although the first years of school may be more challenging for boys with XYY syndrome, they generally go on to lead full, healthy, and normal lives.
It occurs in 1 out of every 1000 male births.
My understanding of this
My understanding of this topic is limited, but I gather that it's possible to reconfigure existing organs, not create new ones. The little girl you referenced had her oesophagus changed in this way, allowing an artificial breathing tube to be inserted. (Sadly she died recently, apparently from other health issues.)
If you're going to write a story about this then I suggest you do a great deal of research first, if only to get your phraseology right. There's no such thing as 'the sperm of a male chromosome'. A normal human cell contains 23 pairs of chromosomes, making 46 in all. A sperm is made by the meiotic division of one of these cells in the testicles, and has a single set of 23. Egg cells are formed in the ovaries in exactly the same way. They recombine during conception, creating a new cell with 23 new pairs of chromosomes which is then free to divide via mitosis and eventually develop into an embryo.
In theory it should one day be feasible to create an artificial uterus which would allow a trans woman to bear a child. My advice would be to by-pass the science and concentrate on the practical and emotional aspects such a scenario would raise. Good luck to you if that's what you do!
Not as Far Out...
There actually have been some recent breakthroughs with creating organs, and uterus replacement is something they're working on actively in one of the groups. For a genetic female I would be willing to bet in 25 years it will be possible to replace a damaged uterus, just like I suspect in 25 years it'll be possible to replace a heart in the same way. They're closing in on the methods, but it's not coming quickly or cheap.
I would love it if it was possible to have a uterus... It's unlikely to be that easy for a transgendered patient though since it's not a normal organ. I would be afraid that it would be rejected fairly frequently. Also, coming up with the supporting blood vessels and such would probably be a big problem. Who knows though... maybe some day, but I would guess beyond our lifetimes.
As far as placing the chromosome of a sperm in an egg you would have to have another X chromosome. You could effectively take two X zygotes and combine theirs into the egg from one donor, (plus the donor egg) or an X and a Y. As someone said below, two Y's would be a poor plan. If you did the XY you would be cloning the person, the two X's would be a different outcome... This is something they are looking at for infertile couples to give them another option.
I forgot how it was done...
It was about creating a baby, that wouldn't have a disease that both parents had (both of the parents were carriers, but they didn't have it. their first kid had it, so they want to make sure the gene was removed from the DNA. (If I got married I'd love to have an egg with my DNA and my hubby inside me...)
TGSine --958
Several...
Several questions all rolled up into one...
Do I think there will come a day where a viable uterus (& the rest of the stuff) could be "grown/manufactured/printed" and the "stuff" surgically inserted where it belongs? Yes. A lot of the techniques needed are getting close. For example, they've successfully "printed" an ear - and had it accepted. (The outer ear part - cartilage, etc.) They've grown many bits and pieces using stem cells. So, yes, it's within the realms of believability that at some point in the future (if we survive) the whole thing will be possible.
The next question - if it were would I like to be pregnant/have a baby... At 55, with leukemia... Probably NOT a good idea (as I'd likely leave a child behind with a single parent... Up until about 10 years ago, I very much wished I could carry a child (I even offered but my wife turned me down.).
I've the next best thing - two daughters that call me mom. :-)
Annette
Oh just like a character I will be introducing in Summer Girl 3
Oh just like a character I will be introducing in Summer Girl 3. The character might be in a prequel of Summer Girl.
Glad you can be a mom...
TGSine --958
The trachea
was taken from a donor and stripped to just it's cartilage and stems cells from the recipient allowed to colonise it before they used it to replace the original one in the recipient. Clever stuff all the same, but as with much transplant surgery it requires someone else to die for the organs to be available.
As per uterus, one has been transplanted from a mother to a daughter, haven't heard of one from mother to son yet.
Angharad
Not yet... :)
As per uterus, one has been transplanted from a mother to a daughter, haven't heard of one from mother to son yet.
Not yet... LOL
TGSine --958
It's about mitochondral diseases
The procedure to place one woman's chromosomes in another woman's egg is intended to eliminate the first woman's mitochondria, assuming that they're defective in some way. Mitochondrial diseases are really nasty. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitochondrial_disease
As far as I know, this is still in the lab bench stage. It's being talked up a lot in the incessant quest for funding, but it'll be a long time before it's anything like a routine medical procedure.
The girl (Hannah Warren) with the implanted trachea? She just died in the last few days. See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/08/hannah-warren-stem-... for the MSM report, and http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2013/07/synthetic-... for a shorter version that gives the actual cause of death.
I heard that Hannah Warren
I heard that Hannah Warren died, but it wasn't from her new organ. I just hope that someday, it (a grow your own uterus) can be done.
TGSine --958
In another direction
They have used the set of chromosomes from a donor egg and combined them with another donor egg successfully. As is standard they allowed the created zygote to multiply several times and then destroyed it. Lab work only, but it does imply the possibility of two lesbians to have 'natural' children rather than rely on a sperm donor. I have used this in a sequel to my K&K story. It's a couple of books forward from where I'm at currently, so don't hold your breath waiting.
As for implanting a uterus in a male (or former male), there are other difficulties besides making the functioning organs. Men do not have the skeletal structure for natural childbirth, any birth will have to be by a Cesarian. Also lacking is the support structure for the uterus. So this becomes a much more involved procedure.
"Life is not measured by the breaths you take, but by the moments that take your breath away.”
George Carlin
You said...
Karen:
You said that males don't have the skeletal structure, but I read if you postponed puberty the hips will be like a
girl. Just wondering...I hope it'll be done. I got to read your story.
TGSine --958