Abstract
BackgroundThe aim of this study was to investigate attitudes towards embryo donation and embryo donation families among professionals working in primary child healthcare, and their experiences of these families.MethodsA cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Sweden between April and November 2016. A total of 712 primary healthcare physicians, registered nurses and psychologists were approached to participate in this study. The study-specific questionnaire measured attitudes and experiences in the following four domains: legalisation and financing, the family and the child’s health, clinical experience of meeting families following embryo donation, and knowledge of embryo donation.ResultsOf the 189 women and 18 men who completed the questionnaire (response rate 29%), relatively few (13%) had clinical experience of caring for families following embryo donation. Overall, 69% supported legalisation of embryo donation for infertile couples, and 54% agreed it should be publicly funded. The majority (88%) agreed the child should have the right to know the donors’ identity. Respondents did not believe that children conceived through embryo donation are as healthy as other children (50%), citing the risks of poor mental health (17%) and social stigmatization (18%). Approximately half reported low confidence in their own knowledge of embryo donation (47%) and wanted to know more (58%).ConclusionsThese results indicate relatively large support among healthcare professionals in Sweden for the legalisation of embryo donation. In order to provide adequate healthcare to families following embryo donation, there is a need to develop educational resources to increase knowledge about the medical and psychosocial consequences of embryo donation among healthcare professionals working in primary healthcare.
Highlights
The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes towards embryo donation and embryo donation families among professionals working in primary child healthcare, and their experiences of these families
Embryo donation is defined by the Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine as a way for couples who have surplus cryopreserved embryos after in vitro fertilization (IVF) to dispose of these by donating them to individuals who need donor gametes or embryos [1]
The present study indicates that the majority of the healthcare professionals has a positive attitude towards embryo donation being permitted in Sweden and support the child’s right to learn about the embryo donors’ identity
Summary
The aim of this study was to investigate attitudes towards embryo donation and embryo donation families among professionals working in primary child healthcare, and their experiences of these families. Swedish women and couples travelled to other countries where embryo donation is permitted, such as Latvia, England or Spain. Children born following embryo donation are already present in the Swedish healthcare system. This raises the question if these children and families have specific needs related to the mode of conception. Two studies were found that investigated children’s health and family adjustment following embryo donation, both based on a longitudinal study of 21 families. The results showed that the families were wellfunctioning and indicated no increased levels of emotional or behavioural problems in the children [6, 7]. Compared to adoptive parents, embryodonation parents exhibited higher levels of emotional over-involvement and reluctance to report negative feelings about parenting, and they were more reluctant to disclose the child’s genetic origin [7]
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