One Month of Ectogenesis at 23 Weeks of Life

• Dr. Thomas Shaffer, Professor of Physiology and Pediatrics at Temple University, in Philadelphia, is Developing an Artificial Amniotic Fluid

• • Perflubron, an inert liquid that can carry more oxygen than blood, proved successful.
  • He administered the artificial amniotic fluid to extremely premature babies' lungs through a tube. Results show that "we can have 70 percent (of babies born at 23 weeks) survive instead of 35%.”
  • David Magnus, co-director of the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics, is concerned that the medical advances that help premature babies survive earlier and earlier may one day lead to babies that are gestated entirely in artificial wombs.

• “Scientific advancements in neonatal medicine may one day lead to the development of a fetus outside the womb.”AFC News Source. Jun. 9, 2004. Complete story production Dec. 11, 2006.<http://www.acfnewsource.org/science/ectogenesis.html>