Overview
Knowledge about abnormal organ development is important to understand pathology and to develop novel treatment approaches for individuals with congenital and acquired disease. Most of our current understanding is based on examination of tissues from the embryo and early fetus, collected from women undergoing termination of pregnancy in the first trimester (third) of pregnancy. There is very little known about normal and abnormal organ development from a developmental perspective during the crucial last two-thirds of pregnancy when much remodelling of fetal tissues occurs. We aim to collect tissue from a variety of developing fetal organs in the last two-thirds of pregnancy from women who decide to undergo a termination of pregnancy and who wish to undergo a clinical fetal postmortem (PM) examination.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
- ≥18 years old pregnant women who attend the Fetal Medicine Unit for concerns about a fetal abnormality where they decide to proceed to termination of pregnancy
Exclusion Criteria:
- Screening labs positive for maternal HIV, Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C, Chlamydia and Herpes.
- Subject unable to make an informed decision about termination of pregnancy.