Ethical Discussions in Approaching Fertility Preservation

E. Seli and A. Agarwal (eds.), Fertility Preservation: Emerging Technologies and Clinical Applications, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-1783-6_2, © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2012 Abstract Cancer survivors may wish to become parents, if they have lost their reproductive function, by using previously stored gametes or gonadal tissue. Fertility preservation serves such a wide range of medico-social circumstances, some quite unique, that patient care requires an individualized and multidisciplinary approach. In particular, fertility specialists offering fertility preservation options to cancer patients should be properly trained and knowledgeable to discuss patient’s treatment plan, prognosis, as well as unusual health risks for future offspring and the potential harmful effects of pregnancy. Overall, there should be no ethical objections to offer these services since they are offered with the scope of preserving future fertility. However, in practice, there are objections: many options are still experimental; posthumous use of stored tissue or gametes carries some legal issues; concerns exist about the welfare of offspring resulting from an expected shortened life span of the parent; concerns exist about the welfare of children born using gametes frozen after chemotherapy already started; and reseeding of cancer is possible after transplanting cryopreserved tissue.