UCI Ethics Meeting Covers Fertility Field
UC Irvine will host a four-day ethics conference on reproductive medicine next month in the wake of a human egg-swapping scandal that drew international headlines and rocked the infertility field.
University officials said the conference was organized to make a “positive contribution” to the field and to confront issues raised by allegations against three doctors at UCI’s now-closed Center for Reproductive Health.
The trio--Ricardo H. Asch, Jose P. Balmaceda and Sergio Stone--have been accused by the university of stealing human eggs and embryos from patients and giving them to other women, engaging in research misconduct and committing financial wrongdoing. All three deny intentional malfeasance.
The conference, to be held April 10-13, is intended to encourage responsibility and accountability of professionals involved in infertility treatment, organizers said.
Dr. Thomas Cesario, dean of UCI’s College of Medicine, said another hope is to help restore the university’s reputation. But the main purpose is to “do something positive” after a scandal that “stunned and sensitized” the university, he said.
Most of the estimated $50,000 cost of the conference will be covered through donations, he said.
While some sessions will be open to the public free of charge, the majority are open to invited professionals only. Reservations for public lectures may be obtained by calling Kit Scott at (714) 824-8184.
Lecture topics will include ethical issues in reproductive medicine and the appropriate limits of assisted reproductive technology.
More than a dozen experts will speak at the conference, to be held at the Mabel Beckman Center for the National Academies of Sciences and Engineering, at California Avenue and University Drive.
