快猫短视频

A CLINIC in southern Japan revealed last week that it flouted ethical
guidelines by fertilising the eggs of women with sperm from their
fathers-in-law. The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology has laid down
guidelines that keep the identity of sperm donors secret, but opponents argue
that Japanese childless couples have traditionally adopted close relatives.

鈥淚n Japan, under the influence of Confucianism, people respect blood lines
and want to take care of them,鈥� says Atsushi Tanaka, director of the Saint
Mother clinic in Kitakyushu. 鈥淪o if the patient wants to use the sperm of a
family member I recommend the [husband鈥檚] father.鈥�

In the past three years nine couples have accepted Tanaka鈥檚 recommendation,
and five babies have been born. Tanaka says he obeyed ethical guidelines by
keeping the source of the sperm secret from the child and from the public.

IVF was approved in Japan 18 years ago, but only for the sperm and eggs of
married couples. The Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology later relaxed
its guidelines to allow third parties to donate sperm.

In 1998 the society expelled an obstetrician, Yahiro Nezu, who fertilised the
eggs of a woman with sperm from her sister鈥檚 husband. Nezu has since carried out
10 similar treatments.

鈥淐onsidering the historical significance of Japanese people adopting their
own nieces and nephews for economic and social reasons, I think this method is
far easier for many couples who undergo in vitro fertilisation,鈥� Nezu told the
Daily Yomiuri.