Semen donors in Germany: A study exploring motivations and attitudes

Thorn, Petra; Katzorke, Thomas; Daniels, Ken

doi:10.1093/humrep/den279

Cited by 42 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Donation of unused embryos may offer an acceptable option both for relinquishing couples and for some patients who currently consider oocyte donation in another country. Furthermore, medical guidelines regarding the treatment of lesbian and single women [51] and legislation pertaining to the legal status of donors could be altered so that guidelines are not more restrictive than current legislation and donors are exempted from legal responsibility, independent from the civil status or the sexual orientation of the recipient (for a detailed explanation of this issue see: [52] [59]. These regulations and conventions, though ratified by only some European countries and subject to variable acceptance, can contribute to, or serve as, a basis for minimum standards of care on the bioethical principles of justice, autonomy and benevolence of all parties in CBRS including the welfare of any offspring.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-border reproductive services – suggestions for ethically based minimum standards of care in Europe

Thorn¹,

Wischmann

Blyth

2012

Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

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Cross-border reproductive services (CBRS) is a phenomenon discussed worldwide. The major challenges associated with CBRS are the lack of data on the number of patients travelling for treatment and lack of transparency regarding the quality and safety of treatment procedures, especially in countries that have not yet introduced legislation or binding professional guidelines. This has given rise to practices that range from dubious to irresponsible treatment. Given that pan-European (let alone globally encompassing) legislation or guidelines are unlikely to appear quickly if at all, the authors suggest the implementation of ethically based minimum standards of care to which clinics and service providers can adhere on a voluntary basis. Such minimum standards of care can result in providing infertility treatment that is transparent, accountable and carried out responsibly for all parties involved.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Cross-border reproductive services – suggestions for ethically based minimum standards of care in Europe

Thorn¹,

Wischmann

Blyth

2012

Journal of Psychosomatic Obstetrics & Gynecology

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“…This development could optimize IVF treatment, but make men literally obsolete from the reproductive process. The potential stigma produced (Thorn et al, 2008) by this development remains for the moment little interrogated, and awaits future research.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tales of healthy men: Male reproductive bodies in biomedicine from ‘Lebensborn’ to sperm banks

Kampf

2012

Health (London)

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Using the example of 'sperm tales', borne out of the biomedical technologies that went hand in hand with the establishment of the 'science of man' (andrology), the article engages with the epistemic evolution of interrelated biomedical theories and concepts of what constitutes a 'healthy' reproductive male body. The article asks: how has the normative ideal male body been either perpetuated or interrogated through these tales of male reproduction at the interface between scientific and medical technologies? And how were changes to the normalization of male bodies central to clinical practices and cultural understandings of health and illness? With many aspects of the medical history of male reproduction in the 20th century still unexplored, this article will focus on the growing intervention of biomedicine to 'treat' male infertility by way of the classification, standardization and normalization of male corporeality, focusing in particular on the representation and construction of men and the male body, as reflected in medical science and practice from the second half of the 20th century onwards in Germany. The article analyses the rise in importance of sperm in biomedical investigation, including a consideration of the construction of infertility as the defining force behind concepts of 'healthy men', and examines the related conceptualization of male reproductive bodies at the crossroad between 'healthy' and 'normal'. It is argued that the ideal of male reproduction as being inherently healthy has lost ground. By the late 20th century, male bodies have become vulnerable, at least as represented in medical science and technology.

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“…In a study concerning 63 German donors, 19% considered the national limit of 15 offspring per donor appropriate, 11% considered it too high and 27% too low (43% had no opinon), (Thorn et al, 2008). A recent survey among 21 sperm donors registered with a UK-based DNA-based voluntary contact registry showed that most sperm donors (13) imposed no limit on the maximum number of offspring conceived with their gametes and one would accept 'more than 20', whereas four would feel comfortable with five to 10 offspring and one fewer than five (van den Akker et al, 2015).…”

Section: Psychosocial Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolving minimum standards in responsible international sperm donor offspring quota

Janssens

Thorn²,

Castilla

et al. 2015

Reproductive BioMedicine Online

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An international working group was established with the aim of making recommendations on the number of offspring for a sperm donor that should be allowable in cases of international use of his sperm. Considerations from genetic, psychosocial, operational and ethical points of view were debated. For these considerations, it was assumed that current developments in genetic testing and Internet possibilities mean that, now, all donors are potentially identifiable by their offspring, so no distinction was made between anonymous and non-anonymous donation. Genetic considerations did not lead to restrictive limits (indicating that up to 200 offspring or more per donor may be acceptable except in isolated social-minority situations). Psychosocial considerations on the other hand led to proposals of rather restrictive limits (10 families per donor or less). Operational and ethical considerations did not lead to more or less concrete limits per donor, but seemed to lie in-between those resulting from the aforementioned ways of viewing the issue. In the end, no unifying agreed figure could be reached; however the consensus was that the number should never exceed 100 families. The conclusions of the group are summarized in three recommendations.

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Semen donors in Germany: A study exploring motivations and attitudes

Cited by 42 publications

References 9 publications

Cross-border reproductive services – suggestions for ethically based minimum standards of care in Europe

Cross-border reproductive services – suggestions for ethically based minimum standards of care in Europe

Tales of healthy men: Male reproductive bodies in biomedicine from ‘Lebensborn’ to sperm banks

Evolving minimum standards in responsible international sperm donor offspring quota

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