1. A Commercialized Look at the Assisted Reproductive Services
Provided by a Third Party
Yahyaei A1*, Kariman N2, Kiani M3
Department of Endocrinology and Female Infertility, Reproductive Biomedicine Research Center, Royan Institute for Reproductive Biomedicine, ACECR, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Midwifery and Reproductive Health, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Department of Medical ethics, School of Traditional Medicine, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
*Corresponding author: Address: Royan Institute, Number 12, East Hafez Avenue, Banihashem Street, Resalat Highway, Tehran, Iran. Tel: , Fax:
Objectives
Results
Addressing the issues related to financial aspects and commercial outcomes of gamete/embryo donation reveal that the use of such methods, without recognizing its various aspects and creating suitable substrates for preventing any misuse, has changed this assistive reproductive method, which has realized the dream of many infertile couples on childbearing, to a global crisis. Undoubtedly, these outcomes are not favored by the first therapists or policymakers in the field of infertility treatment, but they are rather inadvertently due to the combination of specific conditions. In this regard, the following strategies can be suggested; controlling misuses through regulations, planning, and legal definition of financial relations between donor/receiver of gamete/embryo, the use of insurance services for a fair distribution of low-cost health facilities, a comprehensive and coordinate international response, coordination of domestic laws of the countries, and developing solutions for international management of this global problem.
In the new millennium, the assisted reproductive technology has become a global business, and international markets of human gamete/embryo is considered a global health problem. Increased desire of people to use modern assisted reproductive technology on the one hand and the limitations of gamete/embryo on the other hand has led human cells to be traded as a favorable product in international markets. Undoubtedly, the commercialization of reproduction is an issue which requires ethical considerations and necessary solutions.
Conclusions
Studies on the ethical and legal aspects of the gamete/embryo donation in different countries throughout the world attribute this problem to economic gaps, differences in the laws and policies of countries regarding the application of these technologies, weakness of the regulatory system, ignoring ethical dimensions of the subject, and not including them in the existing laws. All of which result in the phenomenon of reproductive tourism, looking at human gamete/embryo as a good, substitution of donation with business, doubts about the validity of assistive reproductive contracts with the participation of third parties, instrumental use of individuals for artificial reproduction, and conversion of service providers to market-like organizations.
Methods
The present study is a review article carried out based on searching the keywords of "Infertility", "Assisted Reproductive Technologies", "Gamete Donation", "Embryo Donation", "Third Party Reproduction", "Medical Ethics" and "Medical Rights" from 5 databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, Cochrane, EM Base and Med line..