Stem cell research often not disclosed

Excerpt from "Stem cell research on donor eggs often not disclosed," Reuters by Frederik Joelving. December 29, 2011--Many U.S. fertility clinics don't tell egg donors that embryos made from their eggs may end up being used in stem cell research, according to a new government survey. That's despite widespread opposition to such research, which is considered morally offensive by a third of Americans, researchers write in the journal Fertility and Sterility.

They found that among 100 fertility clinics, two said they didn't have a consent form for women donating eggs. Of the 66 clinics that sent in a consent form and said they used excess embryos for research, just 20 told women about that. And only three of 38 clinics that used some embryos for stem cell research in particular disclosed that to donors. "The survey shows that only a minority of IVF (in vitro fertilization) clinics mention to egg donors who are donating for the sake of treatment (as opposed to research) that resultant embryos might ultimately be used in research," said study co-author Gerald Owen Schaefer of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. "An even smaller minority mention stem cell research explicitly."

"We recommend that all IVF clinics that provide some embryos for research inform egg donors about the possibility of such research (including stem cell research, which is particularly controversial)," Schaefer told Reuters Health by email. That agrees with several organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences and the International Society for Stem Cell Research. Bioethicists not involved in the new study questioned whether disclosing that surplus embryos might be used for research would have an effect on women's decision to donate.

"Getting an egg out of a woman is not like going to the chicken coop and getting an egg," he said. "It is not a completely risk-free endeavor." Yet, there is no federal regulation of IVF clinics in the U.S., according to Raymond De Vries, a social scientist and a professor of bioethics at the University of Michigan Medical School in Ann Arbor. "It's cowboy land out there," he said.

Medical Director of the National Embryo Donation Center Jeffery Keenan, MD (NEDC): "Unfortunately, this story does not come as a surprise to those of us who practice reproductive endocrinology and infertility. Experience tells us that the informed consent process for ARTs (Assisted Reproductive Technologies) is very poor in many centers. Furthermore, the emphasis with the egg donor is almost always on the monetary rather than the altruistic aspect of this process. So, an attitude of 'she was paid for her eggs, that’s all that matters,' is perhaps not so surprising.

"However, infertility doctors also know just how important these embryos are to the couples, and how often they agonize over what to do with remaining embryos following successful treatments. The fact that an egg donor is not herself pregnant with the donated eggs should not constitute reason to dismiss the importance of the new being that they helped to create.

"In these times when so much attention is focused on being sensitive to cultural, racial and sexual differences, shouldn’t we also be just as sensitive to moral and ethical differences? Sadly, this is not the case in our post-modern society. Still, it is encouraging to note that this article was at least published. Now it’s up to us to 'change the culture' in assisted reproduction.

"For the last nine years, the National Embryo Donation Center, working with CMDA, has promoted its mission to facilitate the process of embryo donation and adoption, educate the lay and medical communities so as to increase the practice of these options, and to work to increase respect for the life and dignity of the human embryo. We have been blessed with more than 300 births/ongoing pregnancies, but there is still much work to be done. We are grateful to CMDA for raising a clarion call on this and so many other current controversies which we physicians face on a daily basis!"

Resources
Adult vs. Embryonic Stem Cell Research
Stem Cell Research Facts