Key Points from Directions and Trends in Egg Freezing Symposium

Written by Steve Masler, CEO of Fertility SOURCE Companies

As a follow up to our last blog posting, our speakers identified key points from each of their presentations delivered at our New York symposium, Directions and Trends in Egg Freezing. As mentioned previously, the speaker's subjects were in regard to Legal, Ethical and Scientific/Medical issues in what is becoming a rapidly progressing technology aimed at making the egg donation process more efficient from a coordination and cost standpoint. Following are the speakers' key points:

Brent Barrett, PhD, HCLD, Scientific and Laboratory Director for Boston IVF, names: evolving technology, particularly in regard to vitrification (fast freeze); potential for FDA to become involved in oversight of egg freezing programs; growing identification of benefits to recipients from pursuing egg freezing processes.

Susan Crockin, JD, Crockin Law and Policy Group, names: issues created by the separation of the egg donation act from the receipt of eggs by the recipient patient; ultimate resolution of unique legal issues including control over frozen eggs, structure of payments, and recording and storing of information.

Fertility Source Companies intends to create a List-Serv for the purpose of further discussion about the above issues. Please note that if you are interested in subscribing to the List-Serv, please email fscmoderator@yahoo.com.

Infertility patients caught in the legal, moral and scientific embryo debate

Written by Steve Masler, CEO of Fertility SOURCE Companies

The Los Angeles Times of Monday, October 6 includes several articles about the dilemma facing the fertility world regarding its accumulation of about (at present) 500,000 frozen embryos. Though the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) permits fertility practices to discard abandoned embryos after five years of storage, no fertility practice has seen fit to implement such an unapproved (by the relevant IVF patient) destruction of embryos.

The articles go on to discuss adoption and research alternatives for frozen embryos. The articles indicate that though there is wide spread support for donation of embryos to research on the part of fertility patients, practical matters make such research donation difficult to achieve in most cases, and in many states.

The articles do not discuss another alternative approach to the frozen embryo dilemma. That is the fertilization of frozen eggs in lieu of using fresh eggs for IVF procedures. When eggs are frozen after being retrieved in an IVF procedure, only a select number need be fertilized with the rest retained in a frozen egg bank. Few, if any, people question that a frozen egg is in any way a potential person. Rather it is viewed as a gamete that is not complete toward forming a human. Ultimate destruction of excess frozen eggs, if any, is apt to be much more accepted than destruction of frozen embryos.

The technology of egg freezing has been dramatically improving in recent years as to its chances for successful pregnancies and births. As the technology improves even more, the emotional benefits of avoiding an excess of frozen embryos is apt to cause the procedure to become much more prevalent.

Click on the link below to see the recap of this article:
Infertility patients caught in the legal, moral and scientific embryo debate

Directions and Trends in Egg Freezing Symposium

Written by Steve Masler, CEO of Fertility SOURCE Companies

Fertility Source Companies sponsored and hosted a symposium in New York City on Directions and Trends in Egg Freezing. The program was arranged to present the legal, ethical and scientific/medical issues involved in what is becoming a rapidly progressing technology aimed at making the egg donation process more efficient from a coordination and cost standpoint.

Presenters were psychotherapist, Patricia Mendel, LCSW speaking on ethical issues; Susan L. Crockin, JD, speaking on legal issues; and Brent Barrett, Ph.D., H.C.L.D. speaking on scientific/medical issues.

The audience, largely comprised of physicians and their clinical staff from various fertility practices, was highly interactive with the speakers, engaging them in dialogue about cases they experienced in their own practices as well as directions for egg freezing in the fertility community at large.

Among the issues that were covered at the symposium were the following:

Legal Issues:
· Who owns the frozen donor eggs?
· Are the eggs bought and sold?
· What rights might the donor have over use of her eggs?
· Likelihood of prompting FDA quarantine (a la sperm banks)

Medical Issues:
· Vitrification (fast freeze) or slow freeze
· How many eggs in a batch?
· Success rates

Ethical Issues:
· Limits on donor compensation
· Reduction of frozen embryos (a plus)
· Experimental procedure
· Disposition of residual eggs (beyond batches)

Financial Issues:
· Donor compensation
· Pricing

Fertility SOURCE Companies would very much appreciate your thoughts and comments on any of the issues mentioned above. Hopefully, this will bring new light to many in the Third Party Reproduction field.