National Geographic: The Incredible Human Body Page #4

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And understand

everything about it?

Now we're set up to answer

one of the first

and basic questions

about how a human is made.

Sauer:
As we hoped,

we have very well-formed

And ready-to-transfer

type of blastocysts.

of growth in the lab,

Inez's embryos

are ready for implanting.

She is shown what might turn out

to be her first baby picture.

Sauer:
Now, with

embryos of this quality,

if I put in three,

the chance of multiple birth

may be as high as 40

to 50 percent, usually twins.

If that makes you overly nervous,

then I would suggest

putting in two,

which still gives you a very

good rate, but less multiples.

What do you think

about all that?

Ummmm... I think we'll

go with the two.

Okay. Okay.

So we'll do two...

Inez:
At first, I was

just going to do two.

I said, "Well, if one doesn't

make it, then one will live."

And, you know, at the last minute

I was sitting here thinking was,

I said, "Well,

it's not that much either."

I mean, for the amount of things

that we had gone through,

to just do one was not

a very smart idea to do.

And then we started

talking about it, I said,

"Wow, two's

not that great either."

So maybe...

I'll do the three.

Sauer:
Now you wanna do...

Yeah, I'll do

the three. Yeah.

I'll put in

that new order for you.

Okay.

Bob, she wants

the three now.

Narrator:
The three embryos

are put into a single catheter,

and guided onto the lining

of Inez's uterus.

Sauer:
There it goes...

So our placement is very good.

Real well... This is what

you hope for when you start.

I really think it's a 50-50

chance for her at this point.

Whether or not

she'll get pregnant,

we'll find out in about 10 days.

Inez:
I didn't get,

like, really, really excited

because they said, you know,

there is a chance

that it might not work,

might not be successful,

and we don't want you

to really get

your hopes up too high,

so I just kept it like that.

Narrator:

science has done it's best,

but it will be

a long 10 days for Inez...

Five viable blastocysts...

three now offering Inez

the chance to be a mother.

Scott:
Does that look right?

Not really, does it?

Okay, what about

Narrator:
Much of what we know about

the way the human body works

emerges when it is

in need of repair.

Scott Toenies, a veteran

and football coach

in rural North Dakota,

is the victim

of debilitating seizures

that have led

to the frightening discovery

of a massive brain tumor.

Two months ago, Scott's tumor

began growing rapidly,

as did the frequency

and severity of his seizures.

Often he would pass out.

If left untreated, Scott may

have less than a year to live.

Scott:
I had

three seizures in three weeks.

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