2003-03-2003_OVE

Initiated: May 2003 SMAClReproMaterial/Septl003
THE WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION RESOLUTION ON THE NON-
COMMERCIALISATION OF HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE MATERIAL
Adopted by the WMA General Assembly, Helsinki 2003
Considering
1. That the principle that the “human body and its parts shall not, as such, give rise to
financial gain” is laid down in numerous international declarations and
recommendations;
2. That the 1987 WMA Statement on In-Vitro Fertilization and Embryo Transplantation
expressly condemns any commercialisation by which ova, sperm, or embryos are
offered for purchase or sale, and .the 2000 WMA Statement on Human Organ and
Tissue Donation and Transplantation calls for the prohibition of the sale of organs
and tissues for transplantation;
3. That, nevertheless, human ova, sperm, or embryos are offered for sale on the Internet
and elsewhere;
4.
“T.
That until now national governments have not been successful In banning such
~QJJ:I.1ll.eI:.Cial transactions;
commercial transactions;
5. That monetary compensation to source individuals for economic losses associated
with the retrieval of reproductive materials can be distinguished from payment for the
purchase ofreproductive materials;
The WMA calls on:
6. NMAs to urge their governments to enact legislation prohibiting commercial
transactions in human ova, sperm and embryos; and
7. Physicians involved in the procurement and use ofhuman ova, sperm, and embryos to
ascertain that these materials have not been purchased from the source individuals.
Hereby they can contribute, in a practical way, to the upholding of the ethical
principle of”non-commercialisation ofhuman reproductive tissue”,
***
17.9.2003
The World Medical Association Resolution on the Non-Commercialisation ofHuman Reproductive Material
(Document SMACIReproMaterialiSept2003j is an official policy document ofthe World Medical Association,
the global representative body for physicians. It was adopted by the WMA General Assembly, Helsinki 2003.
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