Little for donor-conceived people in the Nuffield Council's report
Donor-conceived individuals might justifiably feel short-changed by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' report 'Donor conception: ethical aspects of information sharing'...
Eric Blyth is a Volunteer Writer at BioNews, Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield, and Adjunct Professor of Health Ethics at Tung Wah College. He is also Cochair of the British Association of Social Workers' Project Group on Assisted Reproduction, and International Editorial Adviser at the China Journal of Social Work. He has been a Visiting Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of Alberta, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Baptist University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University. He has also been Editor of the Journal of Fertility Counselling, Coeditor of the British Journal of Social Work, and International Editorial Advisor at International Social Work. Previously, he was a Social Worker at Kent County Council and a Development Officer at Wakefield Metropolitan Council. He is coeditor of Faith and Fertility: Attitudes Towards Reproductive Practices in Different Religions from Ancient to Modern Times (buy this book from Amazon UK) and Third Party Assisted Conception Across Cultures: Social, Legal and Ethical Perspectives (buy this book from Amazon UK).
Donor-conceived individuals might justifiably feel short-changed by the Nuffield Council on Bioethics' report 'Donor conception: ethical aspects of information sharing'...
This comprehensive handbook is written for psychologists and other health-care professionals and covers reproductive health across the lifespan. It will be of considerable value to both undergraduate and post-graduate students who are studying reproductive health...
by Professor Eric Blyth and 1 others
In the US the relinquishment of embryos for family building is the subject of intense ideological debate. This has occurred not least because of the competing discourses of models of 'embryo donation' and 'embryo adoption'...
'One Parent or Five: A global look at today's new intentional families' is the latest report from the Commission on Parenthood's Future (1). Authored by 'scholar Elizabeth Marquardt, a recognized family expert', it claims to offer 'the first-ever systematic critique of the concept of intentional parenthood [by] providing a global tour of today's new intentional families...
by Professor Eric Blyth and 2 others
We welcome much of what Kamal Ahuja wrote in his recent BioNews Commentary 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'. Like him, we believe there is no good evidence to demonstrate that paying 'donors' would increase the supply of donated sperm or oocytes. On the contrary, there is evidence to suggest that properly constructed donor recruitment programmes — such as the one pioneered at the London Women's Clinic — are capable of recruiting a good supply of altruistic donors...
It is not so long since I applauded the decision of the Supreme Court of British Columbia (BC) for promoting the disclosure of the identity of gamete and embryo donors to their offspring [1]. News that the BC Attorney-General is appealing the judgment to the federal Supreme Court indicates that my enthusiasm was a case of premature elation [2]. The good news for those of us who believe that non-anonymous donation is the only ethical form of gamete and embryo donation is that if the federal Su...
by Professor Eric Blyth and 1 others
The regulation of assisted human reproduction in Canada has had a long and tortuous history. Twenty one years after a Royal Commission appointed by the federal government recommended legislation (1), and following several failed attempts to get legislation through the Canadian parliament, the Assisted Human Reproduction Act 2004 came into force (2)...
During its 20-year history, the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has notched up significant achievements in the regulation of assisted human reproduction that have rightly drawn respect worldwide. An important characteristic of the HFEA's approach to regulation has been its use of public consultations to inform policy development...
by Professor Eric Blyth and 4 others
While the HFEA's motivation in undertaking this review is understandable, we consider that there are significant problems with the public consultation. First, there are a number of technical problems with the presentation: the consultation appears to be unavailable to anyone without access to the Internet; the background information provided by the HFEA, ostensibly to enlighten respondents...
Australia has been a noted pacemaker in the field of assisted reproduction. It was the first nation to report embryo relinquishment for family-building, and a pregnancy and live birth from a previously cryopreserved human embryo. The Australian state of Victoria was among the world's first jurisdictions to remove the rights of gamete and embryo donors to remain anonymous...
BioNews, published by the Progress Educational Trust (PET), provides news and comment on genetics, assisted conception, embryo/stem cell research and related areas.