Note: The ethical judgments on this page refer exclusively to the act — never to the person who performs it or who has come into being through it. Cf. Note on ethical judgments (German).
In vitro maturation (IVM) is a form of artificial fertilization in which immature egg cells are removed from the ovary and brought to maturity outside the body in the laboratory. Only after this maturation does fertilization take place — usually by IVF or ICSI. Its advantage over classical IVF: the hormonal stimulation of the woman can be reduced or avoided altogether.
Clinically it is used above all in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and prior to oncological treatments (fertility preservation).
Ontological classification
- is a subclass of: artificial fertilization
- regularly leads to: in vitro fertilization or ICSI
Ethical assessment
IVM shares the structural features that make IVF problematic from the standpoint of personal ontology: the separation of procreation from the personal-bodily act of the spouses and — following maturation — regularly the production of surplus embryos. The reduced hormonal burden on the woman is a medically favorable aspect; it changes nothing about the underlying separation of procreation from the conjugal act.
Sources: Generated by querying the Personhood ontology.
Further sources:
- ESHRE EIM Consortium (2024): ART in Europe, 2021: preliminary results. Human Reproduction 39, Supplement 1, Abstract O-121, deae108.136.
- ASRM Practice Committee (2021): In vitro maturation: a committee opinion. Fertility and Sterility 115(2): 298–304.
- De Vos, M., Grynberg, M., Ho, T. M., Yuan, Y., Albertini, D. F., Gilchrist, R. B. (2021): Perspectives on the development and future of oocyte IVM in clinical practice. Journal of Assisted Reproduction and Genetics 38: 1265–1280.
- Vuong, L. N. et al. (2020): Live birth rates with a freeze-only strategy versus fresh embryo transfer: secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial. Reproductive Biomedicine Online 40(3): 387–394.