Backgrounds: Embryo donation as an infertility treatment was legalized by the national parliament in 2003. The Act of "embryo donation to infertile married couples" determines that the infertile couples must request permission from a family court.
With respect to this Act, the couple must submit the needed documents to the court and then the family court considers their request in terms of criminal record (Good standing), Iranian nationality, and general health status with no evidence of serious mental and physical disorders and impossible treated diseases like HIV/AIDS and hepatitis. Moreover, the court must be assured of no kinds of drug addiction and substance abuse. According to the provisions and bylaw related to the Act, top secrecy and confidentiality of both donors and recipients must be observed.
Methods & Materials: the present study surveyed 71 court permissions filed in Avicenna Infertility Clinic, Tehran, Iran from March 2005- February 2007 to compare the juridical procedure according to judges’ viewpoints in different family court.
Results: 2 permissions were issued by county court and the rest by the courts of county capital. In 28 cases the husband, in 9 cases the wife, in 33 cases both of them and in 1 case the infertility clinic (IC) demand the permission as a plaintiff. Approving the infertility was based on IC report in 4 cases, Legal Medicine Organization (LMO) in 36 cases, both of them in 30 cases and none in 1 case. General competence and good standing is detected by local investigation in 13, police report in 1, testimony in 13 and presumption of validity in 23 cases. In 19 cases, document just mentioned "The court has been sure" with no more explanation. In 2 cases nothing was mentioned.
Conclusions: There is not a lawyer in any case, although no legal prohibition mentioned in the Act. Here, so many differences in judges' consideration obviously threaten the secrecy and privacy of the infertile couples exactly against the Act and bylaw. It seems judges of family courts must be trained and more educated about the embryo donation and its legal and social complications especially the necessity and obligation to protect the secrecy and confidentiality as a patient right and main factor in best interest of the child and public order.