EMBRYO TRANSFER - THE NEXT 100 YEARS

Technological advances in embryology during the past 20 years have been phenomenal, and it is predicted that the pace of new developments in this area will continue, or even accelerate, unless the world becomes embroiled in warfare due to overpopulation and poverty. Currently, the number of people employed in research with preimplantation embryos is approximately equal to the number employed in agricultural applications of embryo technology. The number employed in applications of this technology in human medicine is increasing rapidly. It is predicted that work in all of these areas will increase exponentially on a world wide basis for at least 50 years; however, agricultural applications will plateau after 50 years. Innovative advances in biotechnology and embryology will help us to understand many unsolved questions in reproductive biology, but also will raise new questions. There is a moral responsibility to use these technologies for the benefit of mankind when appropriate.