Uterine lavage: ethics of research and clinical applications

Abstract

ABSTRACT Uterine lavage is presented as a way to perform aneuploidy screening without IVF. The feasibility of this method was tested in a research study. This study combined a number of highly contentious ethical issues: the creation of embryos for research (very early), abortion and (moderate) payments to research participants. It is concluded that the study largely fulfils the criteria of ethical research but that the researchers should have avoided a number of steps. These steps were the inclusion of infertility patients, the performance of the research in a middle-income country and the double destination of the embryos. The next question then becomes whether it would be acceptable to apply the method in a clinical setting. Two elements complicate the introduction in the clinic: low success rate of embryo collection and risk of unintended pregnancy. The application of the method in the clinic may lead to very complicated ethical and legal situations for which both patients and doctors should be prepared.