Fertility & Sterility article Researching Human Oocyte Cryopreservation Ethical Issues

Written by Steve Masler, CEO of Fertility SOURCE Companies

In their well written and thoughtful article, Drs. de Melo-Martin and Cholst point out many of the ethical dilemmas facing the fertility profession regarding performance of oocyte cryopreservation procedures in cases of cancer patients, fertility extension and egg donation.

Though this author agrees with the various ethical dilemmas (and resolutions proposed) identified in the article, I suggest consideration be given to one of presented ethical issues in an additional way.

In an attempt to define the categories of fertility patients who could ethically be included in a research protocol involving cryopreservation of oocytes, the authors name "Possibly women to whom it would be ethically appropriate to offer the option to participate in oocytye cryopreservation protocols [if they are] opposed to embryo cryopreservation."

Considering the above, I would suggest that the fertility profession itself has implicitly defined continuing additions to the already nationally large stock of cryopreserved embryos, many of which will never be implanted, as an ethical issue in its own right. Therefore, regardless of the views of individual patients, which many if not most of the time will not be explicitly clear on the point, the ethical dilemma of continued addition to the accumulation of frozen embryos should be sufficient to motivate the fertility profession to a more expansive view of eligible participants for oocyte cryopreservation protocols.

Click on the link below to access the abstract:
Researching Human Oocyte Cryopreservation Ethical Issues