The demand for techniques of assisted reproduction with donated embryos is increasing. It is increasingly a possibility for people or couples who cannot conceive with their own gametes, and also as an answer for those who have frozen embryos and do not want to discard them.
During highly complex assisted fertilization procedures, not all formed embryos are transferred, and in these cases they are cryopreserved. It may happen that those who gave rise to them do not love them anymore and in those cases they have to decide, at some point, what to do with them. They can either discard them, donate them to give other people the opportunity to have a child or donate them for research.
We believe that the ideal is to donate to other people or couples. For that it is important to clear up some doubts:
Genetic Links
The general debate circulates around the genetic ties that the embryo will have with the partner that donates it and whether there will be any impact on the future child, knowing that there are “genetic siblings” or “genetic half siblings” (in the case of that the embryo is formed with donation of gametes).
In this sense, it is important to make the difference between genitude and parenting. Parenting is a social, cultural and biological fact, it is by no means reduced to the genetic. Donation is NOT parenting. There is no reason to suppose that the absence of the genetic link negatively influences the well-being of future children. Research indicates that the child’s well-being and parental capabilities do not depend on family structure (i.e., genetic bond, number of parents, or gender of parents), but on family functioning: the ability to have a loving relationship. and affectionate with the child.
In Argentina, the family that has chosen to receive embryos asks, Can I access an embryo donation in Argentina? Yes, as long as embryos are available Are there risks that the former embryo holder may claim rights over my child when he is born for any reason? He can not do it. It’s your child, not the former owner of the embryo. Can my son know who his embryo donor was? This is similar to donor gametes. While there is a tendency for donors to agree to give information, most of it is anonymous. But there is no problem if the donor does it openly.
The donor embryo holder wonders: May I know which family will receive my embryo? Yes, but the centers prefer anonymity for both parties. For which consents are signed. Can the born of the embryo that don claim that I am his father? Can not. What if a judge orders it? To date, there are no cases at this address, neither in Argentina nor the United States nor Canada. There is a tendency in Europe for the person to come of age to have access to the information of their donors. In our country, the privacy and confidentiality with which the embryo was donated cannot and should not be undermined by any judicial decision. If at any time a law imposes the cessation of anonymity, it should govern for cases subsequent to the law.
Compared to the options that exist for frozen embryos, donation is always presented as the best.
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