Donating embryos for research is surprisingly complex

Hartshorne said there are several reasons why embryos fail to make it to research labs. Part of the problem is that most IVF cycles are performed at clinics that have no ties to academic research centers.

As it stands, embryos tend to be stored at the clinic where they were produced. Hartshorne said sending embryos to research centers can be difficult because clinic staff don’t have the time, energy or space to manage the legal paperwork required to donate embryos to a specific research program. She added that it would make more sense to set up some large central embryo banks where people could donate embryos for research.

One particular problem is paperwork. Hartshorne said that while the UK was praised for its rigorous approach to regulating reproductive technologies, with global embryologists often describing it as “world-leading”, there was still heavy bureaucracy. “When patients contact me and say, ‘I want to donate my embryos or eggs to your research program,’ I often have to turn them down because it takes me a year to complete the necessary paperwork,” she said .

Maybe a balance needs to be struck. The study of embryos is of immense value. as in the movie joy Reminding us that it can transform medical practice and transform lives.

“Without research, there would be no progress and no change,” Hartshorne said. “I think that’s definitely not what we should be pursuing in IVF and reproductive science.”

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Researchers implanted these “synthetic embryos” into monkeys. So far, They have been able to produce a transient pregnancy-like response …but no fetus.

Others are Trying to get dairy cows pregnant with synthetic embryos. Reproductive biologist Carl Jiang’s first goal is to get cows pregnant for 30 days.