Ethical issues in uterine transplantation

Julian J Koplin; Evie Kendal

doi:10.4285/kjt.2020.34.2.78

Ethical issues in uterine transplantation

Korean J Transplant. 2020 Jun 30;34(2):78-83. doi: 10.4285/kjt.2020.34.2.78.

Authors

Julian J Koplin^{1

2}, Evie Kendal³

Affiliations

¹ Melbourne Law School, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia.
² Biomedical Ethics Research Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, Australia.
³ Deakin School of Medicine and Alfred Deakin Institute, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia.

Abstract

Despite a recent surge of bioethical attention, ethical analysis of uterine transplantation is still in its early stages, and many of the key ethical issues remain underexamined and unresolved. In this paper, we briefly review some key ethical issues associated with uterine transplantation (beyond those associated with organ transplantation more generally). We structure our discussion in terms of Beauchamp and Childress' four principles of biomedical ethics: beneficence, non-maleficence, autonomy, and justice. Our review highlights some ethical questions that require further bioethical attention before uterine transplantation can be fully embraced as a potential treatment for absolute uterine factor infertility. We close by arguing that the costs and benefits of uterine transplantation need to be considered in the context of other possible treatments for absolute uterine factor infertility and alternative methods of family creation.

Keywords: Allocation; Bioethics; Infertility; Medical ethics; Organ transplantation; Pregnancy.

Publication types

Review