Cryos Symposium on Assisted Reproductive Technology

Abstract

The Cryos Symposium took place on 3rd May 2019 in Aarhus, Denmark, and gave the invited audience from all over the world the latest news and scientific research within the field of assisted reproductive technology. Experts gave educational lectures on important topics within ethics, legislation and donor children, donor sperm and eggs, and genetics, which are the main focus areas of the Cryos International Sperm and Egg Bank. The first speaker was Dr Françoise Shenfield from University College London, London, UK, on ethics and cross-border reproductive care. Next was Prof Susan Golombok, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, who spoke about mother–child relationships and children’s psychological adjustment, which was followed by Ms Emma Grønbæk, a 22-year-old student from Aarhus, Denmark, who shared the personal story of her life as a donor child. Prof Steven J. Ory, Florida International University, Miami, Florida, USA, then presented the International Federation of Fertility Societies’ Surveillance (IFFS) 2019 report: Global Trends in Reproductive Policy and Practice, 8th edition, followed by Mr Ole Schou, the founder of Cryos, who talked about the legal right of every child to know his or her legal parents and spoke of the necessity to change the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Male infertility was next on the agenda, as Prof Allan Pacey, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK, listed five important points to take into consideration regarding male infertility. One of the points raised was the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections, such as human papilloma virus (HPV), which set the stage for Prof Willem Ombelet, Genk & Hasselt Institute for Fertility Technology, Genk, Belgium, to give his lecture on his book titled ‘Intra-Uterine Donor Insemination: Evidence-Based Guidelines for Daily Practice, 1st edition.’ Prof Peter Humaidan, The Fertility Clinic, Skive Regional Hospital, Skive, Denmark, gave his lecture on the many exciting aspects associated with egg freezing, and the Director of European Operations in Cryos, Mrs Saghar Kasiri, talked about the advantages and disadvantages of frozen versus fresh eggs. Prof Joyce Harper, University College London, London, UK, brought up the fact that at least 24 million people around the globe have researched their family tree using online DNA testing databases, leading on to a lecture on genetic screening programme developments within gamete banks by Dr Lone Bruhn Madsen and Lead Clinical Geneticist Dr Henriette Roed Nielsen from Cryos. The symposium ended with Prof Wybo Dondorp, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands, giving a lecture on expanded genetic carrier screening.