Statements by Professor Robert Winston

MILAN, AUGUST 22, 2000 (ZENIT.org).- British Professor Robert Winston, "father of the test-tube baby" has reversed his position, to a certain extent, according to reports in the Italian newspaper "Avvenire." Winston, a 60s pioneer of artificial insemination, said that today these techniques are used without studying their need and usefulness for a couple with infertility problems.

As a result, doctors no longer look into the ways of curing infertility or sterility, Winston explained. The real reason for this phenomenon is that these techniques are now a big business. Each operation is carried out outside the National Health Service and costs more than $3,000.

On the basis of Robert Winston's statements, "Avvenire" made its own study to find out if his accusations are supported by other doctors and scientists.

Professor Salvatore Mancuso, director of the Gynaecology Institute of the Catholic University of Rome said: "It is true, we often help women who are frustrated after many failures but who, when they receive the right diagnosis, are able to conceive naturally, without the need of gynecological laboratories."

Claudio Brigante, director of the Physiopathology of Reproduction Center of Milan's St. Raphael Hospital, stressed the importance of meticulous and thorough research in each case. "Everything Winston has denounced has happened in Italy as well. It is often easier to decide on artificial insemination, especially when the couple themselves ask for it, and it is difficult for the doctors to deny their request. A certain robotic nature has been created in patients and doctors. It should be remembered that what gives the best results is a correct diagnostic and therapeutic procedure."

Salvatore Mancuso explained that "Professor Winston's own research has
proved that microsurgery to reconstruct the Fallopian tubes sometimes
leads to far better results than would be possible with artificial
insemination, where the embryo is literally "thrown" into the uterus,
and the probability of its being properly implanted is 15% or less.

Therefore, there are very important areas for further research. "We know very little about the conditions that favor pregnancy at its beginning, about the habitat that the embryo finds naturally, and about how it communicates with the mother's body," Mancuso said. "This will also be addressed by the congress we will hold in the Vatican from September
6-10, 'At the Dawn of Life.' "
ZE00082204