Background: Involuntary childlessness and infertility affect a large group of people and WHO calls it a global public health issue. Donated gametes can be used when a pregnancy is not achieved. Embryo donation involves the full genetic material of the donating couple and embryo donation for reproductive purposes are often associated with many emotional, ethical, legal and psychosocial aspects. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine views on embryo donation for reproductive purposes among couples with experience of cryopreserved embryos. Methods: A literature review was conducted in order to answer the aim. Two databases (PubMed and Web of Science) were used to identify relevant qualitative literature. A smaller search on Google Scholar was also included. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were pre-determined in order to limit which studies to include. Results: A total of 20 studies were included in the results. The results show that there are different views towards the status of the human embryo, views towards the genetic link, information sharing and screening, views towards the selection of recipients, views towards the contact and relationship between donors, recipients and offspring, and views towards the decision-making and whether to donate surplus embryos or not. Conclusion: The multiple understandings of the status of the human embryo emphasizes the complex nature of human embryos and may explain couples’ views on embryo donation for reproductive purposes. It has also the potential to explain what couples decide to do with their surplus embryos. The interests of the receiving couple, the donors, the future child, and the society should continuously be assessed and balanced when society regulates ART and embryo donation. / Bakgrund: Ofrivillig barnlöshet och infertilitet påverkar många människor och WHO kallar det ett globalt folkhälsoproblem. Donerade könsceller kan användas när en graviditet inte kan uppnås. Vid embryodonation innebär det att det donerande paret har full genetisk koppling till embryot och embryodonation för reproduktiva syften associeras ofta med många emotionella, etiska, rättsliga och psykosociala aspekter. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka synen på embryodonation för reproduktiva ändamål hos par med erfarenhet av frysförvarade embryon. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie genomfördes för att besvara syftet. Två databaser (PubMed och Web of Science) användes för att identifiera relevanta kvalitativa studier. En mindre sökning utfördes även i Google Scholar. Inklusions- och exklusionskriterier bestämdes i förväg för att begränsa vilka studier som skulle ingå. Resultat: Totalt inkluderades 20 artiklar i resultatet. Resultatet visar att det finns olika uppfattningar om det mänskliga embryots status, om den genetiska kopplingen, informationsutbyte och screening, om synen på kontakt och relationen mellan donatorer, mottagare och avkomma samt synen på beslutsfattandet och om överskott av embryon ska doneras eller inte. Slutsats: De många uppfattningarna om det mänskliga embryots status betonar den komplexa karaktären hos det mänskliga embryot och kan förklara parens syn på embryodonation för reproduktiva ändamål. Det har också potential att förklara vad par väljer att göra med sina överskott av embryon. Det mottagande parets, donatorernas, det framtida barnets och samhällets intressen bör kontinuerligt bedömas och balanseras när samhället reglerar ART och embryodonation.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts (Clinical Psychology) in the School of Psychology, University of Zululand, 2007 / The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychological impact of infertility on well-being. This study has been contextualized within the broader public health paradigm which re-establishes a balanced view of both illness prevention and health promotion. This study was conducted in the Durban area of Kwa-Zulu Natal. The nature of the research is concerned with the emotional experience of infertile women with regard to positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life and self-acceptance. Date was collected as a quantitative component using Ryffs 3-item Psychological Weil-Being Scale (PWB). Fifty-six women who had been diagnosed with infertility and who were undergoing fertility treatment participated in the study (n=56). The age of the participants was between twenty-nine and fifty-five years. Ninety-eight percent (98.2%) of the participants resided in the cities of KwaZulu-Natal, while less than two percent (1.8%) were rural dwellers. Approximately sixty-six percent (66.1%) of the participants were from nuclear families, while approximately thirty-three percent (33.9%) came from extended families. Conclusion and recommendations for future research Statistical analysis revealed that the overall results were statistically non-significant. The correlation between self-acceptance and duration of infertility revealed the only significant result in this study (p=0.004), highlighting the emotions of dissatisfaction and disappointment with self as a result of prolonged fertility difficulties. The correlation between purpose in life and duration of infertility in years showed to be approaching statistical significance (p=0.021). Disappointment and loss of hope seem to be the products of continued failed attempts of conceiving. This is seen as causing severe insult to self-assessed femininity, as well as further stress, anxiety and depression (Domar, 2004). It is recommended that studies of this nature should include a larger sample, specifically from the rural area, as well divide the sample into racial groups and consider a control group. This is likely to yield more accurate and valid findings. A further recommendation would be to examine the participants' belief systems and explore alternate treatment modalities targeting infertility. Possible limitations of the study Only patients diagnosed with infertility, mostly from the city, participated in the study. The sample size was also not large enough to generalize the findings and offer an accurate representation of the population. The nature of questionnaire required that participants answer several questions pertaining to sensitive personal issues, which may have caused participants to answer in a more socially desirable manner, causing possible inaccuracy in findings. / National Research Funf

This thesis addresses childlessness and its aspects in selected European countries: Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Estonia, the Netherlands, Sweden and Norway. The aim of this work is to discover whether there are differences between capitalist and post-socialist countries when it comes to the development of childlessness and fertility. The tools are: the analysis of fertility, the average age of mothers at childbirth and analysis of childlessness using both transversal and longitudinal indicators. The indicators used in the analysis were of the first and second category. Another aim of this thesis is to find out whether there are differences between the attitudes, opinions and values when it comes to approach to the family, the division of gender roles and children between childless respondents and respondents with children. The differentiation between sex and age groups through the use of three matrices with questions from three surveys (European Values Study, Eurobarometer and ISSP) are also investigated. The factor analysis and the method of principal components are used to reduce the number of variables. The results of the factor analysis are indexed and the indexes are then used to reveal how the differences manifest themselves in the monitored groups of respondents. The main result of...

Infertilitet är ett relativt vanligt hälsoproblem i dagens samhälle. Infertilitet kan uppstå som resultat av en sjukdom där en störning av reproduktiva kroppsfunktioner hindrar uppkomsten av en graviditet och födsel av ett barn. Flertalet kvinnor som senarelägger starten på barnafödandet löper en större risk att drabbas av primär och sekundär infertilitet. Barnlöshet går inte alltid att förebygga och alla kvinnor som önskar att få barn kan inte alltid få barn. Syftet med det här arbetet var att belysa kvinnors upplevelse av ofrivillig barnlöshet efter misslyckade försök att bli mamma. Litteraturöversikt är den metod som har valts för att besvara syftet med det här arbetet. Integrerad analys är den dataanalysmetod som har används. Resultatet visar att isolering från omgivningen är vanlig förekommande bland kvinnor som är ofrivilligt barnlösa. Ofrivilligt barnlösa kvinnor kunde uppleva sin kropp som ett hinder för konception, vilket gav dem känslan av att vara ofullständiga i jämförelse med andra kvinnor. Sorgen över barnlösheten var ständigt närvarande hos kvinnorna. När kvinnorna accepterar sin situation som barnlös sker en personlig mognad och de börjar lägga fokus på sig själva och mål som är uppnåbara. Slutsatsen som framkommer i det här arbetet är att kvinnorna i den här litteraturöversikten oavsett kulturell bakgrund har liknande upplevelser i sin längtan efter ett barn. Att vara ofrivillig barnlös är en stor påfrestning för den som är drabbad. Det är av stor vikt att ofrivilligt barnlösa kvinnor erbjuds emotionellt stöd under sorgeprocessen som följer barnlösheten samt att stötta dem att identifiera strategier för att hantera sorgen.