A lack of clear, accessible, and transparent data creates a series of ethical issues for egg freezing.
Our latest bioethics briefing note highlights a pressing need for data on egg freezing success rates to be presented more clearly, accessibly, and transparently. At present, research suggests that women find these data difficult to navigate.
Frances Flinter, member of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics and Emeritus Professor of Clinical Genetics at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“It’s vital for women thinking about freezing their eggs to be able to make informed choices. To do this, they need easy access to data on their chances of success across various stages of the process – from freezing and thawing eggs, to having a live birth. But they also need clinics to be frank about the process, and about what is known and unknown about egg freezing. This is especially important given egg freezing’s increasing popularity.”
Frances spoke to the BBC Radio 4 Today programme and Mail+ about the briefing note. There was also coverage in The Telegraph, BBC, The Times (and another), and the Daily Mail. Kate Harvey, the author of the note, wrote a piece for BioNews.
|