Bioethics Issues of Artificial Placenta and Womb Technology for Human Embryo Development Outside the Womb
Vol. 174 No. 6 (2023), Review
Vol. 174 No. 6 (2023)

Bioethics Issues of Artificial Placenta and Womb Technology for Human Embryo Development Outside the Womb: doi: 10.7417/CT.2023.2494

Review
Published 2023-11-23
M.C. Medori
MAGI'S LAB, Rovereto (TN), Italy.
G. Bonetti
MAGI'S LAB
K. Donato
MAGI EUREGIO, Bolzano, Italy.
K. Dhuli
MAGI'S LAB, Rovereto (TN), Italy.
G. Henehan
School of Food Science and Environmental Health, Technological University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
R. Brown
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
P. Sieving
Department of Ophthalmology, Center for Ocular Regenerative Therapy, School of Medicine, University of California at Davis, Sacramento, CA, USA
P. Sykora
Department of Philosophy and Applied Philosophy, University of St. Cyril and Methodius, Trnava, Slovakia
R. Marks
Department of Biotechnology Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel
B. Falsini
Institute of Ophthalmology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli-IRCCS, Rome, Italy
N. Capodicasa
MAGI BALKANS, Tirana, Albania
S. Miertus
Department of Biotechnology, University of SS. Cyril and Methodius, Trnava, Slovakia
L. Lorusso
UOC Neurology and Stroke Unit, ASST Lecco, Merate, Italy
D. Dondossola
Center for Preclincal Research and General and Liver Transplant Surgery Unit, Fondazione IRCCS Ca‘ Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, Milan, Italy
G.M. Tartaglia
Department of Biomedical, Surgical and Dental Sciences, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
M.C. Ergoren
Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Near East University, Nicosia, Cyprus
M. Dundar
Department of Medical Genetics, Erciyes University Medical Faculty, Kayseri, Turkey
S. Michelini
Vascular Diagnostics and Rehabilitation Service, Marino Hospital, ASL Roma 6, Marino, Italy
D. Malacarne
MAGI'S LAB, Rovereto (TN), Italy.
T. Beccari
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
S.T. Connelly
San Francisco Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA.
D. Martin
Univ. Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, Grenoble INP, TIMC-IMAG, SyNaBi, Grenoble, France
A. Bacu
Department of Biotechnology, University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania
K.L. Herbst
Total Lipedema Care, Beverly Hills, California, and Tucson, Arizona, USA
M. Kapustin
Federation of the Jewish Communities of Slovakia
L. Stuppia
Department of Psychological Health and Territorial Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, “G. d'Annunzio” University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy
L. Lumer
Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology, University College London, London, UK
G. Farronato
M. Bertelli

Abstract

The worldwide infertility crisis and the increase in mortality and morbidity among infants, due to preterm births and associated complications, made researchers come up with artificial placenta (AP) and artificial womb (AW) technology as a novel solution. These technologies mimic the natural environment provided in the mother’s womb, using chambers that ensure the supply of nutrients as per the fetus’s needs and dispose of the waste substances through an appropriate mechanism. This review aims to highlight the background of AP and AW technologies, go over their historical development and proposed applications, and discuss about the challenges and the bioethics and moral issues. Further research is required to investigate the possible negative effects of these new technologies, and ethical concerns pertaining to the structure and operation of this newly developed technology must be addressed and resolved prior to its introduction to the public sphere.

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