[Oocyte donation in France and national balance sheet (GEDO). Different European approaches]

Oocyte donation (OD), a technique successfully used in Assisted reproductive techniques (ART), has been effective for 20 years as the palliative treatment of certain exocrine ovarian failures. Its indications have also been extended to cover some genetic diseases and documented occult ovarian insufficiency. In France, after an extensive judicial and ethical deliberation, OD was deemed legal and its practice was proscribed in the Bioethics Laws 94-653 and 94-654 of 29 July 1994. Its essential underlying principles are: voluntary, free, anonymous and confidential OD; according to a French decree to meet safety concerns, OD-derived embryos must be quarantined for six months. In vitro fertilization (IVF) programs using donated oocytes are conducted in authorized centers under the responsibility of physicians authorized to retrieve and manipulate donated oocytes. The managers of these programs are the system's keystone, as their role includes, among other, the verification of indications, legal documents, public health safety, anonymous pairing of donor and recipient, and the collection of outcome data. At present, depending of the year, French programs have achieved 17-22% clinical pregnancy rates from transferred OD-derived frozen-thawed embryos, and follow-up studies reported excellent results concerning family relationships, and the physical and psychological development of the children. However, difficulties encountered in the daily practice of OD have led concerned physicians to form the Study group for OD (GEDO) to explore different topics with the aim of improving the overall management of this form of ART. We discussed these points herein, in comparison with the approaches of other European countries.