Professor Catherine Mills1
1Monash University
In March 2022, the Australian Parliament passed legislation to allow the techniques of mitochondrial donation to be introduced into Australia. Known as Maeve’s Law, the Mitochondrial Donation Act 2022 paves the way for implementation of mitochondrial donation in accordance with the proposed model set out by the Government. This entails two phases – the first of which is a clinical trial to establish the safety, efficacy and feasibility of introducing the technique into wider clinical practice. The second phase entails wider use of the technique in clinical practice.
One particular problem is becoming increasingly evident as Australia moves forward in implementing mitochondrial donation. This is that mitochondrial donation will put additional strain on an already overburdened system of oocyte donation in Australia. It is widely known that there is an existing shortage of eggs available for people wanting to access these, either for reproductive or research purposes. Mitochondrial donation will add to demand.
As Australia is not unique in facing a disparity between supply and demand for oocytes, various mechanisms have been proposed to address this issue already. However, as we argue in this paper, none of these are adequate. Instead, noting that there is also an emerging problem of an excess of eggs in vitrification, we argue for serious consideration of an ‘opt-out’ consent process for people seeking to freeze eggs. Such an approach would be advantageous in several ways, while avoiding the ethical controversies that attend the system as it is currently used in organ transplantation.
Biography:
Catherine Mills is Professor of Bioethics and the Director of the Monash Bioethics Centre, Monash University. Her research addresses ethical, social and regulatory issues in human reproduction, especially at the intersection with genomics and other innovative health technologies. She is currently leading research projects funded by the ARC and MRFF and contributing to projects funded by the NHMRC, the ARC and other funders.