Table 3 Example of translational research—in vitro fertilization after posthumous sperm procurement
From: Translational research—the need of a new bioethics approach
Phases | Aims | Tasks |
|---|---|---|
T0 | Identifying characteristics and viability of semen after death | Sampling postmortem reproductive products |
T1 | Testing in real environments | Case reports, a few hundred cases worldwide—procreative autonomy, consent from the dead, moral status of the embryo, conflicts of interests |
T2 | ||
T3 | Disseminating the results to patients and clinicians | Increased awareness about the technique (scientific journals, mass media) Comparing the effectiveness of the technology with other IVF techniques |
T4 | Changing public health policies and behaviors beyond the effects of the treatment | Establishing guidelines regarding IVF after PSP Promoting the technique outside classical scenarios (sampling for fertilization other persons than the wife) |
T5 | Social policies | Generalizing the concept of presumed consent for PSP Decreases the number of unfertile couples caused by the death of a husband Increases the birth rate Changes in the resource allocation for ARTs |