Discordant Views of Experts and Laypersons on the Adoption of New Fertility Technology

BACKGROUND: Healthcare costs are increased by the adoption of novel technologies before solid evidence on efficacy and risks. Oocyte cryopreservation for preserving fertility raises special ethical challenges. We compared opinions of professionals for assisted reproductive technology (ART), bioethicists, medical students and the general population toward the questions: do you support access to oocyte cryopreservation to preserve fertility for personal reasons and who should bear the costs? METHODS: The surveys conducted for this study were carried out in Israel included the following: (1) survey of 21 ART unit directors; (2) interviews with 23 bioethics experts; (3) survey of 196 medical students from 2 universities; (4) random digit-dial population-based survey of the public (N=600). RESULTS: Nearly 80% of ART and bioethics experts and 56% of students thought that oocyte cryopreservation should be allowed even for personal reasons. While expressing concerns about social consequences, bioethicists emphasized individuals' rights. In contrast, among the public, only 40% supported the use of this technology for personal reasons (ranging from 24% among Ultra-orthodox Jews and Arabs, to 51% among seculars or with academic education). Of note, 15% were undecided (vs. <2% among students, P<0.001). Most experts suggested private financing of the procedure for personal reasons, whereas the public preferred national or private insurance coverage. CONCLUSIONS: Nonexperts present a greater level of ambivalence than experts toward the use of a novel fertility technology for nonmedical reasons. Experts' preferences and interests may facilitate adoption of novel technologies with yet unclear effectiveness and safety, potentially contributing to increased healthcare costs

Ambivalence · Assisted reproductive technology · Bioethics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Fertility · Fertility preservation · Health care · Infertility · Oocyte cryopreservation · Political science · Population · Pregnancy · Public relations · Reproductive technology · Law · Medicine · Ovarian function and disorders · Psychology · Reproductive Biology and Fertility · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology

• Highly confident but wrong

  Mary Lundeberg, Mary A Lundeberg et al.•Journal of Educational Psychology•1994

  Incluir item

• What should be given a priority – costly medications for relatively few people or inexpensive ones for many? The Health Parliament public consultation initiative in Israel

  Open Access•Nurit Guttman, Carmel Shalev et al.•Health Expectations•2008

  Incluir item

• Bringing the Mountain to the Public

  Open Access•Nurit Guttman•Communication Theory•2007

  Incluir item

• The Family in Israel

  Yoav Lavee, Richard Katz et al.•Marriage & Family Review•2003

  Incluir item

• Measuring Public Priorities for Insurable Health Care

  Floyd Jackson Fowler, Donald M Berwick et al.•Medical Care•1994

  Incluir item

• Effort in Phone Survey Response Rates

  Open Access•C Mccarty, Mark House et al.•CAM•2006

  Incluir item

• For Love or Money-Or Both

  Open Access•N Folbre, Julie A Nelson•The Journal of Economic…•2000

  Incluir item

• The Sources of Gender Role Attitudes among Christian and Muslim Arab-American Women

  Jen’nan Ghazal Read, Jen''Nan Ghazal Read et al.•Sociology of Religion•2003

  Incluir item