Would couples donate their embryos for research?
About 30 per cent of 126 survey respondents who had surplus embryos in storage after in-vitro fertilisation procedures would donate their embryos for research, if this option was available to them, according to a study from Western Australia published in the current issue of The Medical Journal of Australia.
Unfortunately this option is not available in Western Australia, although amendments to the Reproductive Technology Act 1991 (WA) could make it happen. Legislation about embryo storage varies from state to state - in Western Australia the legal time limit for embryo storage is only three years (compared with 10 years in most other states), after which time couples must use the embryos themselves, donate the embryos to another couple, discard the embryos, or apply for a 2-year storage extension.
Authors of the study, Dr Peter Burton, Scientific Director at the Concept Fertility Centre at the King Edward Memorial Hospital in Perth, and Dr Katherine Sanders, Lecturer at the University of Western Australia, said that 29 per cent of couples would donate their embryos to research to improve IVF techniques, 27 per cent would donate their embryos to stem-cell research and 15 per cent would donate their embryos to another infertile couple.
This compares to 92 per cent of couples in Sweden being willing to donate their surplus embryos to research and only 12 per cent in France.
Age or having had children previously did not affect the decision to donate embryos, but those with moderate to strong religious beliefs were less likely to choose to donate their embryos to research.
Over 90 per cent of respondents indicated they would seek outside help to decide the fate of their embryos.
"This highlights the need to provide support and information to help couples through their decision-making process," Dr Burton said.
"The need for educational programs on issues relating to embryo donation to another couple has been raised previously. Our findings support this view, and suggest that programs should be extended to encompass all potential donation options, including medical research," Dr Burton said.
The Medical Journal of Australia is a publication of the Australian Medical Association.
Journal Issue June 7, 2004
This media release was originally issued on Wednesday May 26, 2004
CONTACT Dr Peter BURTON 0414 568 085 / 08 9382 2388
Judith TOKLEY, AMA Public Affairs, 0408 824 306 / 02 6270 5471