Macro and micro ethics in fetal and embryological collections: Exploring the paradigms of informed consent among Australian education-focused stakeholders

The management of human fetal and embryological collections presents an ethical challenge that can be explored from different perspectives, particularly when considering informed consent. The “micro ethics” level focuses on parties engaged in giving and receiving human tissue while the “macro ethics” level focusses on the collective responsibility of the discipline and society. Additionally, adopting a framework, where ways of working are designed with relevant communities, requires understanding the perspectives of individuals, communities, and organizations. The aim of this study therefore was to assess the perceptions of education-focused Australian stakeholders. A survey collected the perspectives of 198 participants. The majority of participants (61.6%; n = 122/198) indicated that human fetal and embryological remains obtained prior to era of informed consent should be retained for use in education/research. It is likely that their perspective is based on the notion that if human fetal and embryological collections are used for good, then disposing of them would deny this benefit. Women (p < 0.001) indicated a preference for obtaining fetuses and embryos with informed consent for education and research (38.4%; n = 76/198). Majority were in favor of recording both maternal (MI) (59.6%; n = 118/198) and paternal information (PI) (58.1%; n = 115/198) with each donation. Majority (56.1%; n = 111/198) expressed that donations should be accepted from both parental sources. Consideration of stakeholder perspectives is important in developing guidelines regarding these collections. The results from this study demonstrate a level of discomfort with respect to collections without informed consent, which should be considered at the macro ethical and micro ethical level.