Fertility and Sterility
Volume 92, Issue 6 , Pages 2094-2096 , December 2009

How couples who have undergone in vitro fertilization decide what to do with surplus frozen embryos

Presented at the 64th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, which was held in San Francisco, California, on November 8–12, 2008.

  • Robert D. Nachtigall, M.D

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, California
    • Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, California
    • Corresponding Author InformationReprint requests: Robert D. Nachtigall, M.D. Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, 160 Palo Alto Avenue, San Francisco, California 94118 (FAX: 415-502-5208).
    • ,
  • Kirstin Mac Dougall, B.A., M.F.A

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, California
    • ,
  • Jennifer Harrington, B.A

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, California
    • ,
  • Julia Duff, Ph.D

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, California
    • ,
  • Matthew Lee, B.A

      Affiliations

    • Georgetown University School of Medicine, Washington, D.C
    • ,
  • Gay Becker, Ph.D

      Affiliations

    • Institute for Health and Aging, University of California, San Francisco, California

Received 20 April 2009 ,Revised 9 June 2009 ,Accepted 11 June 2009.

References 

  1. Nachtigall RD, Becker G, Friese C, Butler A, MacDougall K. Parents' conceptualization of their frozen embryos complicates the disposition decision. Fertil Steril. 2005;84:431–434
  2. Lyerly AD, Steinhauser K, Voils C, Namey E, Alexander C, Bankowski B, et al. Fertility patients' views about frozen embryo disposition: results of a multi-institutional U.S. survey. Fertil Steril. Published online December 5, 2008 [Epub ahead of print].
  3. McMahon CA, Gibson FL, Leslie GI, Saunders DM, Porter KA, Tennant CC. Embryo donation for medical research: attitudes and concerns of potential donors. Hum Reprod. 2003;18:871–877
  4. de Lacey S. Patients' attitudes to their embryos and their destiny: social conditioning?. Best Prac Res Clin Obstet Gynaecol. 2007;21:101–112
  5. de Lacey S. Decisions for the fate of frozen embryos: Fresh insights into patients' thinking and their rationales for donating or discarding embryos. Hum Reprod. 2007;22:1751–1758
  6. Parry S. (Re)constructing embryos in stem cell research: Exploring the meaning of embryos for people involved in fertility treatments. Soc Sci Med. 2006;62:2349–2359
  7. Lyerly AD, Steinhauser K, Namey E, Tulsky JA, Cook-Deegan R, Sugarman J. Factors that affect infertility patients' decisions about disposition of frozen embryos. Fertil Steril. 2006;85:1623–1630
  8. McMahon CA, Saunders DM. Attitudes of couples with stored frozen embryos toward conditional embryo donation. Fertil Steril. 2009;91:140–147
  9. de Lacey S. Parent identity and "virtual" children: why patients discard rather than donate unused embryos. Hum Reprod. 2005;20:1661–1669
  10. Klock SC, Sheinin S, Kazer R. Couples' attitudes regarding embryo disposition after in vitro fertilization (IVF). Fertil Steril. 2001;76:S25
  11. Tversky A, Kahneman D. Loss aversion in riskless choice: a reference-dependent model. Q J Econ. 1991;106:1039–1061
  12. Shin J, Ariely D. Keeping doors open: the effect of unavailability on incentives to keep options viable. Mgmt Sci. 2004;50:575–586
  13. Irons B, Hepburn C. Regret theory and the tyranny of choice. Econ Rec. 2007;83:191–203
  14. Kingsberg SA, Applegarth LD, Janata JW. Embryo donation programs and policies in North America: survey results and implications for health and mental health professionals. Fertil Steril. 2000;73:215–220
  15. Zweifel JE, Rathert MA, Klock SC, Walaski HP, Pritts EA, Olive DL, et al. Comparative assessment of pre- and post-donation attitudes towards potential oocyte and embryo disposition and management among ovum donors in an oocyte donation programme. Hum Reprod. 2006;21:1325–1327
  16. Laruelle C, Englert Y. Psychological study of in vitro fertilization-embryo transfer participants' attitudes toward the destiny of their supernumerary embryos. Fertil Steril. 1995;63:1047–1050
  17. Darlington N, Matson P. The fate of cryopreserved human embryos approaching their legal limit of storage within a West Australian in-vitro fertilization clinic. Hum Reprod. 1999;14:2343–2344
  18. Van Voorhis BJ, Grinstead DM, Sparks AE, Gerard JL, Weir RF. Establishment of a successful donor embryo program: medical, ethical, and policy issues. Fertil Steril. 1999;71:604–608
  19. Lyerly AD, Faden RR. Embryonic stem cells: willingness to donate frozen embryos for stem cell research. Science. 2007;317:46–47
  20. Bangsboll S, Pinborg A. Yding Andersen C, Nyboe Andersen A. Patients' attitudes towards donation of surplus cryopreserved embryos for treatment or research. Hum Reprod. 2004;19:2415–2419
  21. Burton P, Sanders K. Patient attitudes to donation of embryos for research in Western Australia. Med J Austral. 2004;180:559–561
  22. Hammarberg K, Tinney L. Deciding the fate of supernumerary frozen embryos: a survey of couples' decisions and the factors influencing their choice. Fertil Steril. 2006;86:86–91
  23. Fuscaldo G, Russell S, Gillam L. How to facilitate decisions about surplus embryos: patients' views. Hum Reprod. 2007;22:3129–3138
  24. Newton CR, McDermid A, Tekpetey F, Tummon IS. Embryo donation: attitudes toward donation procedures and factors predicting willingness to donate. Hum Reprod. 2003;18:878–884

 R.D.N. has nothing to disclose. K.M. has nothing to disclose. J.H. has nothing to disclose. J.D. has nothing to disclose. M.L. has nothing to disclose. G.B. has nothing to disclose.

 Supported by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant no. RO1 HD45429 (R.D. Nachtigall, principal investigator; G. Becker, coinvestigator).

PII: S0015-0282(09)01329-6

doi: 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2009.06.027

Fertility and Sterility
Volume 92, Issue 6 , Pages 2094-2096 , December 2009

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