Japan currently has no legislation regarding ART with donated gametes or embryos; the Japanese Association in this field has allowed only non-commercial gametes donation programs. One draft law now under discussion is to allow ART with donated gametes. Since many Japanese parents have already undergone ART abroad with donated sperm or eggs, it is quite likely that a variety of concerning issues will arise for those seeking ART as well as for child(ren) born from ART. These issues remain to be clarified and addressed. [The author] interviewed parents of children from donated eggs in Colorado, USA in 2011. Similarly, we interviewed parents in Japan between 2019 and 2024, in each case obtaining rich data from a wide variety of questions. Based on that data, this report focuses on what ethical and social issues/challenges US and Japanese parents with children by egg donation have faced, in particular their concerns, actions they have taken, and difficult situations they have encountered. We report here the results of our work of how differences in “culture” affect parents who have used this reproductive technology. To give a few examples, the subject of “ethics” was raised much? more frequently by U.S. parents than Japanese parents. In Japan, parents were commonly frustrated by family and friends commenting on which of the parents the child resembled. Further, some women in Japan undergoing ART were resistant to genetic testing, reflecting the controversial history of genetic testing in Japan.

Authors:
Azumi Tsuge, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan

About the Presenter(s)
Dr. Azumi Tsuge is a Professor at Department of Sociology, Meiji Gakuin University in Tokyo. Her research on reproductive medicine and technology draws on interdisciplinary perspectives from Medical Anthropology, STS, Bioethics, and Gender Studies.

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