Planned oocyte cryopreservation for women seeking to preserve future reproductive potential: an Ethics Committee opinion
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Committee members:Judith Daar, Jean Benward, Lee Collins, Joseph Davis, Owen Davis, Leslie Francis, Elena Gates, Elizabeth Ginsburg, Susan Gitlin, Sigal Klipstein, Laurence McCullough, Richard Paulson, Richard Reindollar, Ginny Ryan, Mark Sauer, Sean Tipton, Lynn Westphal, Julianne Zweifel, …
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (2018). Planned oocyte cryopreservation for women seeking to preserve future reproductive potential: an Ethics Committee opinion. Fertility and sterility. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.08.027
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Planned oocyte cryopreservation for women seeking to preserve future reproductive potential: an Ethics Committee opinion. Fertility and sterility. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.08.027
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "Planned oocyte cryopreservation for women seeking to preserve future reproductive potential: an Ethics Committee opinion." Fertility and sterility, 2018.
For EndNote, Zotero or Mendeley:
Open access
Free to read
No reuse license
Free to read at the publisher (reported by Unpaywall and OpenAlex, not verified by RRM Academy)
RRM Academy Synopsis
ASRM ethics panel says planned egg freezing is ethically permissible
A 2018 ASRM Ethics Committee opinion holds that women may ethically use planned egg freezing, called planned OC, to guard against future infertility. Planned OC means freezing eggs before any medical need exists. The opinion reports no original study. The committee says the results and long-term effects are uncertain.
Key Findings
The committee finds planned OC "ethically permissible" for women who want to protect against later infertility, and says it serves their "legitimate interests" in reproductive autonomy.
The committee calls planned OC an "ethically permissible" treatment and holds that it may strengthen women's autonomy and promote social equality.
The committee says providers "should ensure" women hear about efficacy, safety, benefits and risks, including unknown long-term health effects for offspring.
The committee advises providers to share their own clinic-specific freeze-thaw and live birth results, or their absence, and disapproves of paying marketing firms per patient.
The committee says the surest, cheapest route to a family is to conceive through intercourse or donor insemination while still young, before the mid-30s.
Interpretation
An ethics committee opinion states a position after weighing arguments on both sides. The document contains no trial and no new data. The committee calls planned OC relatively new. Most studies of frozen eggs involved young women and shorter storage than a planned OC patient may need. Short-term offspring studies were reassuring, and long-term ones are absent. The opinion cites one early study of 201 women, in which almost half (49%) later felt some regret.
RRM Context
The committee names ovarian stimulation, egg retrieval and embryo transfer as regular parts of IVF, so planned OC sits within IVF technology. Restorative reproductive medicine asks what affects fertility now and whether that cause can be found and treated. The committee's advice to conceive at a relatively early age concerns timing. RRM also centers evaluation of both partners.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
Planned oocyte cryopreservation ("planned OC") is an emerging but ethically permissible procedure that may help women avoid future infertility. Because planned OC is new and evolving, it is essential that women who are considering using it be informed about the uncertainties regarding its efficacy and long-term effects.
Practice Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Electronic address: asrm@asrm.org, 2021
Ethics and Policy › Reproductive Ethics › Egg Freezing · Assisted Reproduction › Freezing and Storage › Egg Freezing
Judith Daar, Jean Benward, Lee Collins, Joseph Davis, Owen Davis, Leslie Francis, Elena Gates, Elizabeth Ginsburg, Susan Gitlin, Sigal Klipstein, Laurence McCullough, Richard Paulson, Richard Reindollar, Ginny Ryan, Mark Sauer, Sean Tipton, Lynn Westphal, Julianne Zweifel, 0000-0003-0284-2845
J Daar, J Benward, L Collins, Joe Davis, Joey Davis, J Davis, O Davis, L Francis, E Gates, Liz Ginsburg, Beth Ginsburg, Betsy Ginsburg, E Ginsburg, Sue Gitlin, S Gitlin, S Klipstein, Larry McCullough, L McCullough, Rick Paulson, Dick Paulson, Rich Paulson, R Paulson, Rick Reindollar, Dick Reindollar, Rich Reindollar, R Reindollar, G Ryan, M Sauer, S Tipton, L Westphal, J Zweifel
PMID 30396539 30396539 DOI 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.08.027 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.08.027 Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine et al. 2018, Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 2018
Breaking Up with IVF Free for membersMidwife and former front-line IVF clinician Dr. Jennifer Mercier joins Dr. Naomi Whittaker for a candid Save the Uterus Club conversation. 
Masterclass in Endometriosis & Surgery 9 sectionsComprehensive guide for patients preparing for endometriosis surgery. 
Hormones Through the Lifespan Free for membersA comprehensive overview of hormonal health across a woman's life, menstrual cycles, common conditions, and the transition to menopause, presented by Dr. Ana Garcia, OB/GYN. 
