The fate of surplus embryos in the setting of assisted reproductive technology: A scoping review

Abstract

Objective: To identify the attitudes of infertile couples toward their surplus frozen embryos. Methods: This study was according to PRISMA-ScR as the guideline for scoping review. Studies that assessed the attitudes of patients or infertile couples who had surplus embryos were included. We conducted systematic searches in English studies from April 2011-April 2021 using 7 databases: PubMed, Science Direct, EBSCO, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Sage Journals, and Google Scholar. Data were charted based on author, year of publication, country, purpose, data collection, key findings, and research focus/domain. Results: A total of 37 research articles were included in the analysis. Their attitudes encompassed: supporting the donation of the surplus embryos for both research and reproductive purposes, continuing to store the frozen embryos, and disposing of the surplus embryos. Conclusions: Most of the infertile patients support donating their surplus embryos for research and reproductive purposes.