Abstract
Several threads of research towards developing artificial gametes are ongoing in a number of research labs worldwide. The development of a technology that could generate gametes in vitro has significant potential for human reproduction, and raises a lot of interest, as evidenced by the frequent and extensive media coverage of research in this area. We have asked researchers involved in work with artificial gametes, ethicists, and representatives of potential user groups, how they envisioned the use of artificial gametes in human reproduction. In the course of three focus groups, the participants commented on the various aspects involved. The two recurring themes were the strength of the claim of becoming a parent genetically, and the importance of responsible communication of science. The participants concurred that (a) the desire or need to have genetic offspring of one’s own does not warrant the investment of research resources into these technologies, and that (b) given the minefield in terms of moral controversy and sensitivity that characterises the issues involved, how information is communicated and handled is of great importance.
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Notes
The participants were Alison Murdoch (Newcastle University), Ana Veiga (University of Barcelona and ESHRE), Susana Chuva de Sousa Lopes (Leiden University), Niels Geijsen (Hubrecht Institute), Anna Smajdor (University of East Anglia), Torbjörn Tännsjö (University of Stockholm), Guido Pennings (Ghent University), José Knijnenburg (Freya), Ris Keizer (Freya and D.O.M.), Marijke Merckx (“The Lost Stork”, Belgium), René van Soeren (COC Netherlands).
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Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to all focus group participants for their participation. The work reported in this paper has been made possible by the project “Artificial gametes: science and ethics”, funded by the Centre for Society and the Life Sciences (CSG), Nijmegen, and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw), The Hague.
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Cutas, D., Dondorp, W., Swierstra, T. et al. Artificial gametes: perspectives of geneticists, ethicists and representatives of potential users. Med Health Care and Philos 17, 339–345 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-013-9535-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-013-9535-8