Ectogenesis

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Ectogenesis (from the Greek ecto, "outer," and genesis) is the creation of mammalian life outside the womb. Ectogenesis nominally refers to the complete artificial creation of life, as described in Aldous Huxley's 1932 novel Brave New World. However, the term has been applied to all technological developments that would result in a shortening of the time required for the fetus to attain viability following implantation in the womb.

Ectogenesis involves the application of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) to previable infants whose lungs are incapable of gas exchange. ECMO is a technique used in selected neonatal intensive care units to treat term infants with selected medical problems that result in the infant's inability to survive through gas exchange using the lungs. It is not currently used on preterm infants. Such experimentation on human preterm infants has not been reported. However, experiments on fetal goats have occurred and have resulted in maintenance of life for several weeks outside the womb in previable goat fetuses. Issues related to nutrition and hormonal stability remain to be addressed.

The application of ECMO to preterm human fetuses has the potential to avoid complications of conventional neonatal intensive care, such as lung damage and stroke. It also has the potential to move the threshold of fetal viability to a much earlier stage of pregnancy. This would have implications for the ongoing controversy regarding human reproductive rights.

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