Embryologist asks the big q

Taken from
Assisted Reproduction - Islamic Views on the Science of Procreation 
- Norhayati Haji Ahmad
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science,
University of Brunei Darussalam, Jalan Tungku Link BE1410,
Negara Brunei Darussalam

Email: norahmad@fos.ubd.edu.bn

Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 13 (2003), 59-60.


Sperm cryopreservation

Cryopreservation involves freezing of semen using a cryoprotectant and storing it at very low temperatures for later use. This technique may be used for patients that have been diagnosed as having a disease where treatment from the disease may result in infertility. The sperm is processed and is kept and thawed at a later date and with the patient's consent, is used to fertilise the oocyte from the wife. This technique is legal as long as the couple is still within the marriage contract, however, the storing of the husband's sperm for the purpose of impregnating the wife in the event of his death is regarded as illegitimate as under Islamic law the event of death render's the marriage union to be void (6). This is because Shariah laws takes into account of the rights of the child for it to be reared by two parents.

In vitro fertilisation (IVF)

IVF involves fertilisation of the gametes outside of a woman's body. It is the preferred option for patients that present with factors such as the damage of the fallopian tubes. IVF involves several stages such as stimulating the ovaries to produce multiple oocyte, inseminating the oocyte with sperm, culturing the embryos until they have divided and finally transferring the 2-3 day post insemination embryos back to the uterus. The embryos are selected based on their ability to survive culture conditions by looking at the cell numbers present at day 2-3 post insemination and their morphology.

Looking at IVF from the Islamic angle, it is a technique that if successful may result in pregnancy for the childless couple. However a debatable issue that arise would be in the selection of embryos for transfer and the fate of the other remaining embryos. Patients may consent to discard the spare embryos or consent to freezing or cryopreservation. The advantages of freezing embryos would be that the woman might not have to undergo the drug stimulation cycle again and also to prevent the woman from experiencing the side effects of the stimulant drugs that are used.

Moral status of the embryo

Assisted reproductive technology often results in the availability of numerous spare oocytes and embryos (7) that are not transferred into the uterus of the mother. Cyropreservation (freezing) techniques are able to store embryos up to a few years which can be thawed and returned to the uterus of the mother when she decides to have a child, this process is legitimate so long as the woman from whom the oocytes were obtained is still within the marriage contract with the husband whose sperm was used to fertilise her own oocytes.

The other option for spare embryos is to be donated for research purposes. The interests of embryo research include to further improve knowledge in assisted reproduction, the diagnosis and prevention of genetic disease and development of better contraception methods (8). Embryo research for therapeutic purposes are allowed with prior consent of the couple undergoing infertility treatment (3). The embryos that have been researched upon are not to be transferred to the uterus of the mother or to any other woman.