I thank Prof. Pierre Mallia for his interesting article (The IVF controversy, TMID, 20 May). It seems that we are one when it comes to the freezing of embryos. Further to my article (The Sunday Times, 3 May), I would like to clarify that, yes as a doctor I lose patients wanting ART treatment because I do not freeze embryos. In fact it is the tipping point that some specialists use to convince their patients to seek treatment abroad. I am sure that Prof. Mallia is very aware of how the medical system unfortunately operates in Malta.

I however do not see it that way. If I personally had been convinced that freezing embryos was the right thing to do, I would have done it years ago. There were no regulations in force then either, and I was free to practise it had I wanted to. But after 18 years of IVF practice, I still resist introducing freezing as part of our protocol at Saint James Hospital.

Regarding the other matter which asks at what stage life begins, I feel that I am not competent enough to join in the debate. My opinion, for what it is worth, is that life begins at the moment of fertilisation, as previous to that, the separate male and female cells do not subdivide on their own. It is when the male sperm enters the female oocyte that the process of life begins. It is at that moment that the formation of a human being starts.

Dr Josie Muscat MD ARDMS

Marsascala