Ovarian transplant controversy

This story, published by the Boston Globe, strikes my interest for a variety of reasons.

First of all, the fear of not being able to become pregnant is something which many women have to deal with. I have witnessed family members who are perfectly healthy and capable of becoming pregnant face great difficulty in doing so. Therefore, I can understand the insecurities which this European couple must have experienced when learning they could be incapable of having children later in life due to a bone cancer diagnosis.

No matter, in my opinion it is always wonderful to bring another life into the world, and make a happy loving couple into a family.

However, another key point in this article is the mention of the Denmark Health System as the financial support for the transplants. Although I don't know too much about pregnancy procedures, I am fairly sure that all fertility testing conducted is paid for by the couple or individual requesting the services.

The idea of payment also brings up issues of socioeconomic status and inequalities of that nature. If this procedure were to be done in the United States, it is likely that there would be no financial assistance granted by the government, and the couple would therefore have to pay for the ovarian transplant as well as treatment for bone cancer. Most likely, this amount of money would be a lot for any person, and could create a controversy for individuals with lower income who are unable to pay for such services.