Current practices and controversies in assisted reproduction report of a meeting on “Medical, Ethical and Social Aspects of Assisted Reproduction” held at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland 17–21 September 2001

The objectives of the meeting were (a) to review and assess recent developments in assisted reproductive technology (ART); (b) to identify unresolved issues in the field; and (c) to provide recommendations for future research. To permit in-depth analysis and discussion, the meeting did not cover the whole field of ART. Instead, it focused on recent topics or those that were considered to present particularly difficult and pressing problems:

• national and international surveillance of ART
• intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI)
• manipulation and cryopreservation of gametes
• multiple pregnancy
• techniques of ovarian stimulation
• preimplantation genetic diagnosis
• sychosocial issues
• ethical aspects in relation to the individual, to the couple and to the offspring
• issues of equitable access
• the role of consumers and the place of ART in developing countries

The following background papers were commissioned from invited speakers and peer-reviewed prior to the meeting. A detailed list of recommendations arising from the subsequent discussion is presented at the end of the paper:

• Infertility and assisted reproductive technologies in the developing world
• Infertility and assisted reproductive technologies from a regional perspective
• Recent medical developments and unresolved issues in ART
• Embryo selection methods and criteria
• Multiple pregnancies and multiple births
• Social and psychological issues in infertility and ART
• Ethical aspects of infertility and ART
• National and international surveillance of ART and their outcomes