A study by the Instituto de Saúde Pública da Universidade do Porto (ISPUP), published in the “Acta Médica Portuguesa”, analyzed the opinions of professionals in reproductive medicine regarding anonymity, access and information sharing within the scope of gamete donation – the use of donated ovules and spermatozoids for Medically Assisted Procreation (PMA) techniques – in Portugal.
Changes in the legal context of gamete donation, such as the removal of anonymity from donors in 2018, and the extension of access to Medically Assisted Procreation techniques by single women and couples in 2016, sparked a public discussion on their potential implications for the National Health System, taking into account the scarcity of human resources and infrastructures to cope with the increased demand for gametes.
In particular, this paper looked at the views of health professionals – physicians, nurses, embryologists, biologists and psychologists – on issues such as the anonymity of gamete donors (people donating their eggs and spermatozoa to beneficiaries), the location of the existing public gamete centers so that individuals can donate their genetic material, the definition of priority groups of beneficiaries for access to these treatments and the sharing of information on the results of the donation.
A total of 37 health professionals participated in the study, through an online questionnaire, available between April 22 and July 21, 2018, on the website of the Universidade do Porto.
The results show that most of the professionals agree with the anonymity of the donors (64.5%) and with the current location of the public gametes collection centers (67.6%). It should be noted that 22.6% are in favor of a double track, that is, a possibility that allows both donors and beneficiaries to opt for anonymous or non-anonymous donation. This possibility is also used in countries such as Denmark.
Regarding the issue of giving priority access to donated gametes by heterosexual couples, to the detriment of homosexuals, 72.7% of male health professionals agree, while 53.8% of female health professionals disagree. Still on this topic, 62.2% disagreed on prior access by married women over single women.
Lastly, the idea prevailed that donors should not be informed about donor outcomes (e.g. whether or not a pregnancy occurred from the donated material), especially among males (90.9% versus 50.0% of women).
The ISPUP researchers – Susana Silva, Catarina Samorinha and Cláudia de Freitas – call for the design of political and legal frameworks that consider the expectations, knowledge and concerns of the different parties involved in the process of gamete donation – health professionals, donors and beneficiaries – and underline the importance of citizen participation in decision-making processes. The research was carried out within the project “Engaged – Bionetworking and citizenship on Gamete Donation”, led by the ISPUP researcher Susana Silva, and funded by the Science and Technology Foundation (FCT).
The work is entitled “Anonimato, Acesso e Partilha de Informação na Doação de Gâmetas em Portugal: Como se Posicionam os Profissionais em Medicina da Reprodução?”. The researchers Susana Silva, Catarina Samorinha and Cláudia de Freitas participated in the study.
Image: Pixabay/StockSnap
