Screening practices and beliefs of assisted reproductive technology programs.

OBJECTIVE

To explore assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs' beliefs about and practices for screening program candidates for the use of ART services.

DESIGN

An anonymous, self-administered, mailed questionnaire.

SETTING

U.S. ART programs.

PARTICIPANT(S): Directors of U.S. ART programs.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Screening practices and beliefs, agreement with statements about screening rights and responsibility, information collected about candidates, and likelihood of turning away hypothetical candidates.

RESULT(S): The majority of programs do not have a formal policy for screening candidates. The majority of program directors agree that they have a right and responsibility to screen candidates. On average, programs turn away 4% of candidates each year. The majority of programs report being very to extremely likely to deny treatment to the couples described in various scenarios, such as physical abuse, positive HIV status, and single parenthood. Significant variation was seen across programs in their likelihood of turning away various hypothetical candidates.

CONCLUSION(S): There is substantial variation in ART programs' screening practices. These results highlight the need for increased debate over what constitutes inappropriate denial of access to services, and what are prudent, social, ethical, and medical judgments.