Deciding the fate of supernumerary frozen embryos: parents' choices

Abstract

Embryo cryopreservation is a routine procedure in assisted reproductive technologies. Although couples have been informed about all potential procedures, some of them face the dilemma of what to do with surplus frozen embryos. The purpose of this qualitative study was to evaluate the attitude of patients toward their surplus cryopreserved embryos. Fifty patients who had undergone successful IVF cycles, and had surplus embryos cryopreserved were selected from a clinical database. We could contact twenty two patients agreed to participate in the study and responded the interview. Seventeen participants (77.3%) believed that cryostoraged embryos were 'life'. Patients who would discard embryos rather than donate to research expressed their concern about the misuse of embryos. Those who would discard rather than donate to other couples considered that donating an embryo would be like giving away a child. Seven patients were unsure whether life had begun at this stage of development. Although some couples thought of their embryos as little more than biological material, others envisioned them as living entities or 'virtual' children. The decisions on whether to donate embryos to another couple, or discard them were coloured by strong values about human life and equated with child abandonment.

Embryo donation and understanding of kinship: the impact of law and policy

“…Much of the available research into embryo donation for reproductive use considers general IVF patient attitudes; exploring why patients do not donate (Kingsberg et al ., 2000; Newton et al ., 2003; Bangsboll et al ., 2004; de Lacey 2005; Lyerly et al ., 2006, 2010; Fuscaldo et al ., 2007; Newton et al ., 2007; McMahon and Saunders, 2009; Melamed et al ., 2009; Mohler-Kuo et al ., 2009; Nachtigall et al ., 2009; Takahashi et al ., 2012; Wanggren et al ., 2013). …”

What Is the Outcome and Fate of Frozen Supernumerary Embryos Resulting from Egg Donation?

“…Those electing to discard their embryos often cite ambivalence toward the cryopreservation process or partner disagreement toward disposition; thus, discarding provides a de fi nitive outcome. Melamed et al reported that most couples who chose to discard embryos stated it was "a last minute decision"; in addition, the majority did not agree with embryo research and were unable to donate their embryos to another couple [ 40 ] . Hammerberg and Tinney showed that although most couples preferred to donate their embryos to science/research or other couples rather than to discard them, those that elected disposal cited "not wanting a full sibling to existing children" and "opposition to embryo research" for choosing to dispose of their embryos [ 41 ] .…”

“…In contrast, patients whose decision-making was in fl uenced by religion were much less likely to have their embryos discarded. Therefore, countries that are predominantly Catholic (e.g., Brazil, Italy) have a very low incidence of embryo discardation [ 40 ] .…”

Percepciones actuales y decisiones de pacientes acerca de embriones criopreservados en Argentina

“…Consecuentemente, un estudio del año 2009 demuestra que las parejas participantes fueron más propensas a donar sus embriones para investigación antes que descartarlos, lo que también puede relacionarse con la decisión de no "desperdiciar" los embriones sobrantes. 11 Además de la importancia que reviste el contexto legal y normativo a la hora de tomar las decisiones, aparecen otros factores vinculados a los aspectos emocionales y familiares, a las creencias, a la cantidad de tratamientos realizados, al tiempo de búsqueda de embarazo y fundamentalmente al nacimiento de los hijos. En este contexto nos preguntamos ¿cómo perciben los pacientes a sus embriones criopreservados?…”

“…Un cuarto de los encuestados (25%) contestó que aún no han tomado una decisión. Estudios anteriores han demostrado que la representación del embrión es un factor fundamental a la hora de decidir qué hacer con los embriones excedentes [4][5]9,11,[14][15][16][17][18][19][20] . Sin embargo, los modos de representar están cultural y simbólicamente determinados y pueden ser co-construidos en el devenir del proceso reproductivo.…”