Third party reproduction
Encyclopedia
Third party reproduction refers to a process where another person provides sperm
or eggs
or where another woman provides her uterus
so that a woman can have a child. Thus the reproductive process goes beyond the traditional father
-mother
model. However, the third party's involvement is limited to the reproductive process and does not extend into the raising of the child. One can separate:
Thus a child can have a genetic and social (non-genetic, non-biologic) father, and a genetic, gestational, and social (non-biologic) mother, and any combinations thereof. Theoretically a child thus could have 5 parents.
includes, in its wider sense, all situations where a surrogate carries a pregnancy for another person. Recently, there has been a tendency to separate the gestational carrier situation from the "true" surrogate restricting the term for a woman who provides a combination of ovum donation and gestational carrier services.
In a 'conventional surrogacy', a surrogate agrees to be inseminated with the sperm of the male partner of the 'commissioning' couple, or with the sperm of one of the male partners in a same-sex relationship, or with sperm provided by a sperm donor. The surrogate is inseminated, conceives, and hands over the baby at the completion of the pregnancy. In conventional surrogacy, the egg which is fertilized is therefore that of the surrogate. A famous case involving paternity
rights and surrogacy is the Baby M
case.
In a 'gestational surrogacy', a surrogate agrees to the implantation in her of an embryo which may be created either by using an egg provided by another woman who may be part of a 'commissioning' couple, or she may be a single woman. Alternatively, an egg provided by a donor may be used to create the embryo. The embryo implanted in the surrogate may be fertilised using sperm from the male partner of the 'commissioning couple', or by using sperm provided by a sperm donor.
Embryo donation is where extra embryos from a successful IVF of a couple are given to other couples or women for transfer with the goal of producing a successful pregnancy. Embryos for embryo donation may also be created specifically for embryo transfer
using donor eggs and sperm, or in some cases donor eggs and donor sperm. It may thus be seen as a combination of sperm donation and egg donation, since what is donated is a combination of these. Such embryos may also be donated to a 'commissioning' woman or a 'commissioning' couple and gestated by a surrogate where, for example, the 'commissioning' woman or the woman of the 'commissioning' couple is infertile and is unable to bring a pregnancy to full term on medical grounds, or is unwilling for social, medical or other reasons, to do so.
Spermatozoon
A spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
or eggs
Ovum
An ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization...
or where another woman provides her uterus
Uterus
The uterus or womb is a major female hormone-responsive reproductive sex organ of most mammals including humans. One end, the cervix, opens into the vagina, while the other is connected to one or both fallopian tubes, depending on the species...
so that a woman can have a child. Thus the reproductive process goes beyond the traditional father
Father
A father, Pop, Dad, or Papa, is defined as a male parent of any type of offspring. The adjective "paternal" refers to father, parallel to "maternal" for mother...
-mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
model. However, the third party's involvement is limited to the reproductive process and does not extend into the raising of the child. One can separate:
- Sperm donationSperm donationSperm donation is the provision by a man, , of his sperm, with the intention that it be used to impregnate a woman who is not usually the man's sexual partner, in order to produce a child....
. A third party provides sperm that can be used for inseminationInseminationInsemination is the deliberate introduction of sperm into the uterus of a mammal or the oviduct of an oviparous animal for the objective of impregnating a female for reproduction...
of the future mother or to fertilise an ovumOvumAn ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization...
for re-insertion of the resulting embryo into the mother, or by embryo transfer into a surrogate mother. - OvumOvumAn ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization...
donation. An egg donorEgg donorEgg donation is the process by which a woman provides one or several eggs for purposes of assisted reproduction or biomedical research. For assisted reproduction purposes, egg donation involves the process of in vitro fertilization as the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory. After the eggs...
provides ova for fertilization in the IVF process. The embryo is placed into the uterus/womb of the future mother (embryo transferEmbryo transferEmbryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy...
). - Embryo donation, with unused embryoEmbryoAn embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
s after the woman for whom they were originally created has successfully carried one or more pregnancies to term, or where embryos are specifically created for donation using donor eggs and donor sperm. - Gestational carrier. A woman carries a baby through the pregnancy for another person. This involves the use of IVF as the embryo is implanted by embryo transferEmbryo transferEmbryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy...
.
Thus a child can have a genetic and social (non-genetic, non-biologic) father, and a genetic, gestational, and social (non-biologic) mother, and any combinations thereof. Theoretically a child thus could have 5 parents.
Combinations
SurrogacySurrogacy
Surrogacy is an arrangement in which a woman carries and delivers a child for another couple or person. This woman may be the child's genetic mother , or she may carry the pregnancy to delivery after having an embryo, to which she has no genetic relationship whatsoever, transferred to her uterus...
includes, in its wider sense, all situations where a surrogate carries a pregnancy for another person. Recently, there has been a tendency to separate the gestational carrier situation from the "true" surrogate restricting the term for a woman who provides a combination of ovum donation and gestational carrier services.
In a 'conventional surrogacy', a surrogate agrees to be inseminated with the sperm of the male partner of the 'commissioning' couple, or with the sperm of one of the male partners in a same-sex relationship, or with sperm provided by a sperm donor. The surrogate is inseminated, conceives, and hands over the baby at the completion of the pregnancy. In conventional surrogacy, the egg which is fertilized is therefore that of the surrogate. A famous case involving paternity
Paternity (law)
In law, paternity is the legal acknowledgment of the parental relationship between a man and a child usually based on several factors.At common law, a child born to the wife during a marriage is the husband's child under the "presumption of legitimacy", and the husband is assigned complete rights,...
rights and surrogacy is the Baby M
Baby M
Baby M was the pseudonym used In re Baby M, 537 A.2d 1227, 109 N.J. 396 for the infant named Sara Elizabeth Whitehead at her birth, and later named Melissa Stern by her father and adoptive mother....
case.
In a 'gestational surrogacy', a surrogate agrees to the implantation in her of an embryo which may be created either by using an egg provided by another woman who may be part of a 'commissioning' couple, or she may be a single woman. Alternatively, an egg provided by a donor may be used to create the embryo. The embryo implanted in the surrogate may be fertilised using sperm from the male partner of the 'commissioning couple', or by using sperm provided by a sperm donor.
Embryo donation is where extra embryos from a successful IVF of a couple are given to other couples or women for transfer with the goal of producing a successful pregnancy. Embryos for embryo donation may also be created specifically for embryo transfer
Embryo transfer
Embryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy...
using donor eggs and sperm, or in some cases donor eggs and donor sperm. It may thus be seen as a combination of sperm donation and egg donation, since what is donated is a combination of these. Such embryos may also be donated to a 'commissioning' woman or a 'commissioning' couple and gestated by a surrogate where, for example, the 'commissioning' woman or the woman of the 'commissioning' couple is infertile and is unable to bring a pregnancy to full term on medical grounds, or is unwilling for social, medical or other reasons, to do so.
External links
- Annotated Bibliography for Children and Parents of Third Party Reproduction Compiled by the Education Committee, Spring 2007
- UK Donorlink (UK Voluntary Information Exchange and Contact Register for donors and donor-conceived people)
- http://reproductivefacts.org/uploadedFiles/ASRM_Content/Resources/Patient_Resources/Fact_Sheets_and_Info_Booklets/thirdparty.pdf THIRD PARTY REPRODUCTION(Sperm, egg, and embryo donation and surrogacy) A Guide for Patients
- http://www.conceivingconcepts.com/learning/articles/3rd-party-reproduction.html Different treatments and methods available for Third Party Reproduction
- http://www.inciid.org/index.php?page=thirdparty Various articles on Third Party Reproduction