Patient session

1. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
FERTILITY EUROPE
Double donation– The Israeli Case study
Ofra Balaban-Kasztelanski M.A.
Chair CHEN – Patient fertility Association, Israel
EXCO member of Fertility Europe

2. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
•Non Profit Organizations have an important role in Health
Promotion at the national, European and international
level.
•While having ministry of health on one side,
•Pharma industry on second side,
•professional doctors on third side – we need to
•look at the forth and most important actor/sector – the
patients that are via NGOs that have the most
influence in Health Promotion/coverage needs and
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3. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
•In Israel, the role of NGOs is so important that they
keep the systems working,
like a start of a new law: Embryo donation.
The current situation:
ØTo donate an embryo is different emotionally than egg
donation or sperm donation.
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4. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
We can learn from the Israeli case what can and should
be done.
• In Israel, the clinic has to reserve the embryos for 5 years
by law. Now we face a situation that more than 150,000
frozen embryos are "leftovers" . After 5 years the
embryos are still in 28 IVF units in Israel.
• The situation is close to a disaster. It costs to keep them
and there is no room for all of them.
• From time to time we can hear about mistakes that
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5. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
• NGOs influence government and Knesset- to change laws
for the benefit of the patients
NGOs
Government
Knesset
Happy
patient
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6. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
• We in CHEN, decided to promote a new law that allowed
parents to sign, that after 5 years, the remaining embryos
of their IVF, can be donated to other patient.
The law is presented to the Ministry of Health and will be
presented to KNESST soon. That means that among
other options of keeping the embryo, defreeze it or donate
for research of stem cells, there will be the an option to
donate the embryos to another patient.
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7. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
•We in CHEN have already experience of creating a law -
the egg donation law from non-patient donor. So we are
the leaders of this law. The new law will accompanied with
a campaign for the members of KNNESSTT so it should
be passing the 3 needed votes. Than the campaign will be
for the doctors and clinics to be sure that the patients will
sign the papers before the IVF treatment started.
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8. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
• This is a starting point and a plane for the coming months.
We have all the reasons to believe that it will take a long
time, but, we, as patients association, have to keep it
rolling.
• We already convince a member of the KNNESSTT to
take this law and to promote it. We already convinces the
Ministry of Health to be our partner and to back it.
•
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9. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
•
We know that the road is long but must started before a
massive accident will occurred - meaning, wrong
treatments in one of the labs that will "kill" many embryos.
It is a sensitive action.
To donate an embryo is different emotionally than egg
donation or sperm donation.
We have to keep open mind and prepare a super
sensitive law to make it available.
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10. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
• In the European level the European umbrella NGO
organizations, Fertility Europe can do the same with
the MEP and the EU Health commissioner.
•
• In an international level the same – Fertility Europe
representatives participate in high level meetings of
The EU and WHO and present the patients’ voice.
•
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11. “CHEN” – PATIENT FERTILITY ASSOCIATION
Thank you
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