Abstract
Argentina, like many other countries in the region, faces the dilemma of what to do with the increasing accumulation of frozen embryos, which are often abandoned. This report aims to address the issue of abandoned frozen embryos, following the main concerns: 1) when is an embryo considered abandoned, according to regulatory documents; 2) how can the number of cryopreserved abandoned embryos be decreased; and 3) what are the current available options for discarding these abandoned embryos. Issues concerning the fate of abandoned embryos call for a revision of the technical aspects, as well as the symbolic aspects associated with the embryos and their options for discarding. Embryo disposal is a complex and intimate decision, which depends not only, on the quality of the cryopreserved embryo, but also on the social, cultural, economic, labor and health insurance aspects. In the absence of a formal regulatory framework for such decisions in Argentina, current practices and standard procedures face significant developmental hurdles. Among future actions to be developed in the short, medium and long term by this committee are building interdisciplinary teams, fostering patient-awareness, devising guidelines, and enforcing policies regarding embryo abandonment.
Highlights
The present study analyzes the problem of abandoned frozen embryos in Argentina from an interdisciplinary approach
Three main questions will guide the following reflection: 1. When do regulatory documents consider that the embryo has been abandoned?
The storage of cryopreserved embryos is a common practice in fertility centers. These embryos have been cryopreserved for two reasons: for being surplus from IVF -in vitro fertilization- treatments to avoid multiple pregnancy, or due to a critic decision to delay transfer waiting for decreased patients risk or enhanced treatment effectiveness
Summary
The present study analyzes the problem of abandoned frozen embryos in Argentina from an interdisciplinary approach. The symbolic embryo representation, meaning the way patients perceive and refer to their frozen embryos, might change during reproductive treatments and it is determined by several conditions: the technical and medical characteristics of the patient-physician relationship; the moral, cultural and emotional aspects such as feelings, affections, fears and anxieties involved in the decision-making processes; the genetic aspects of inheritance, and normative and regulatory grounds.
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