The director of an IVF centre in Bologna has highlighted the success of oocyte vitrification as an alternative to embryo freezing, saying that she has been developing the technique since the 1990s and would definitely not revert to embryo freezing if given the option to do so.

During a press conference at Palazzo Capua in Sliema, organised by the Professionals Against Embryo Freezing (PAEF) lobby group, Eleonora Porcu, the director of the Centre of Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Technologies at the University of Bologna, explained that the advantages of oocyte vitrification eliminates ethical, religious and legal problems associated with embryo freezing.

The parliamentary committee on medically assisted procreation is proposing the regulation of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and the setting up of a national embryo freezing service; it recently heard submissions from medical professionals in favour and against embryo freezing.

Health Minister Joe Cassar is against the idea of embryo freezing. He said he would prefer the oocyte vitrification technique, which essentially refers to the freezing of oocytes (eggs) prior to fertilisation.

The PAEF group, which was set up last January, is insisting that the process of IVF should not include the option of embryo freezing.

PAEF coordinator Miriam Sciberras explained that in its presentations to the Social Affairs Committee, the lobby group presented scientific papers to show that oocyte vitrification is now giving comparable success rates, avoiding the need of embryo freezing except in very rare, grave and unforeseen circumstances.

While acknowledging the urgent need for regulation in the field of IVF, Dr Sciberras said: “Embryos are the earliest form of human life. They have the right to be treated as human beings from the moment of conception. The freezing of embryos constitutes an offence against the respect for human life at its most vulnerable. This procedure exposes the embryos to an increased risk of harm and death.

“We are also particularly concerned that this process produces a number of surplus embryos. Experience from other countries has shown that a significant number of these embryos are invariably lost, as they might not survive the thawing process. Many others are discarded.”

The PAEF group believes that the state has an ethical and moral obligation to protect “embryonic human beings” in the same way it protects every other human being.

Meanwhile, Dr Porcu said there is no difference in the efficiency of IVF using embryo freezing and oocyte vitrification – the success rates are in fact similar.

She explained that since Italy introduced legal restrictions with respect to IVF in 2004, the technique of oocyte vitrification as an alternative to embryo freezing started being used much more than it used to, and the success rate of IVF using the technique was 19 per cent, compared to the 20 per cent success rate of IVF using embryo freezing.

“I started developing the technique even before the legal restrictions were introduced and then I wanted to improve it. Using this technique may be a little bit more expensive,” she admitted, saying that it involves a selection process. But many people actually request this technique as a result of their moral convictions.

She explained that the use of the technique at the clinic she runs generated a lot of interest, particularly from the US, where certain doctors and scientists are starting to believe that the IVF method should change.

About 10 years ago Dr Porcu started conducting international courses to teach the oocyte vitrification technique.

“The technique is not in its infancy, but there are far less cases compared to embryo freezing, even though the two techniques started being used at more or less the same time.”

Embryo freezing started being developed in 1983 and oocyte freezing just three years later. However, as Dr Porcu explained, embryo freezing is less time consuming.

From a scientific point of view, she said it is now time to change old-fashioned attitudes because what seemed to be an erratic technique is proving to be successful, and there are ethical and moral problems associated with it.

Dr Sciberras, on her part, pointed out that the science of human embryology defines the human embryo as a whole living member of the species homo sapiens in the earliest stage of his or her natural development.

“The human being comes into existence as a single celled organism (the zygote) and develops, if all goes well, into adulthood. The embryo, foetus, child and adolescent are but stages in the development of a determinate and enduring entity that is the human being.”