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Background to the Study: 1985 witnessed the first transfers of frozen embryos resulting in live births in France. Since this time the number of embryos obtained by in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has increased each year. In 1999 each IVF attempt obtains, on average, 4.5 embryos that can be successfully implanted. In this paper we consider only those couples who have successfully obtained embryos (either by ICSI or traditional IVF techniques). The aims of the study are: To show how developments in embryo production and conservation have influenced the number of embryos stored. To address the socio-medical and ethical issues raised and to provide practitioners with some thoughts for reflection when consulting with couples based on the study findings To discuss the results of our findings in the light of those ethical questions raised by the imminent revision of the Laws of Bioethics., Method: In the first instance we did a retrospective analysis of quantitative data that 17 storage centres had collected over a period of 5 years. This period was marked by the implementation in 1994 of Laws described as Bioethics' Laws in France. During a second period we conducted a qualitative study regarding the fate of stored embryos. In order to do this, we began an analysis of the "status" of embryos and the decisions of those couples whose embryos were still in storage. For this a questionnaire was used., Findings: The number of embryos that remain in storage in the 17 storage centres has increased reaching a total of 17,592 embryos involving 3,888 couples. The results show a consistent and persistent increase in the number of embryos stored before and after 1994. The qualitative study shows that: 51% of couples with embryos in storage can no longer be found, 23.6% request a continuance of storage, 12% would accept donating their embryos to medical research, 9.1% would wish for other couples to take eventual ownership of the embryo in 7.2% of cases the storage centre has can provide no information concerning the continuing of storage of such embryos., Interpretation: The Bioethics Laws have therefore not succeeded in limiting the inflation in the number of embryos stored despite that the fact that this was one of the major concerns of those involved in formulating the laws and the medical professionals involved. Our study shows that the guidelines provided by these Laws remain ambiguous and that the objectives defined therein are thus difficult to achieve. Our study highlights the impact of such developments on the possible eventual "destiny" of such embryos, the behaviour of and the advice provided to couples, and the management practice of the storage centres involved. We present these results in the light of the laws established in 1994 in order to define not only the benefits but also the potential limitations of such legislation. No guidelines were laid down regarding the future of embryos belonging to a couple that no longer wishes to embark upon a "parental project". As a result it is not possible to terminate the conservation of such embryos which therefore remain in storage awaiting the revision of the current laws. The major objectives of our study assess the impact of the Laws and their impact on practice and to contribute to the debate which has yet to take place in the social and political arena.

Background: Since the creation of places where DNA is stored, a number of questions appear about protecting the individual, confidentiality and the validity of the proposed consent to storage. This study, originating in France, analyzes and assesses the impact of the information given by the clinician to the patient regarding having his DNA stored. How does the patient receive the information? What is left of it? Is he informed enough to sign a "well-informed" consent?, Methods: A questionnaire issued to 170 patients in the same department was used to assess: (1) their knowledge of genetics, (2) their knowledge of DNA storage, (3) their perception of the consent., Findings: A third of the patients answered, 20% of whom understood the objectives of a genetic test. None of the patients contacted was aware that he had samples stored in a DNA bank, that genetic analyses had been undertaken or remembered that he had signed a consent (which indeed exists)., Interpretation: The idea of a "well-informed" consent belongs to the criteria defining the validity of a cure and research agreement. Yet, its validity is doubted as soon as the information it implies is not understandable by the patients. Indeed, can the individual be considered autonomous, in the philosophical sense, in a well-informed decision making if the information given to the patient has not been well understood?

The demand for consumer safety with regard to the food-processing industry is becoming, legitimately, more and more urgent. If ingested drugs can carry deleterious effects that exceed the beneficial effect that the research was initially undertaken for, then the same can only be the case for foods that stem from the same new biotechnologies, zero risk being non existent. There are two conflicting viewpoints about the possible risks linked to genetically modified organisms: a posteriori protection (based on vigilance once the product is on the market) and an a priori protection (at present usually supported by the precaution principle). We suggest a third way, which ensures consumer safety, but doesn't hinder scientific progress. Just as there are regulations for the protection of human subjects in biomedical research and regulations for the use of drugs after they are marketed, so should such regulations be introduced in the domains of food production that use biotechnologies. We therefore suggest that the scientific community and the food-processing industry develop evaluation protocols for new foods like the ones that exist for drugs. We thus offer thirteen regulations, based on the Helsinki declaration, in order to establish these protocols. These proposals, applied to food-processing research, would enable the industry to return confidence to consumers and thus avoid the random blocking of scientific progress, which is a source of health for the greater population.

The ethical quality of research could be improved in four ways: increasing the expertise of research committees, encouraging the popularization of research in ethics, delivering medical training in ethics, and improving the a posteriori control of editorial committees. With regard to the last point, we propose ethical guidelines that may be used as a screening device for publication. Scientific publications have a duty to contribute to the diffusion and application of ethical principles. But too often pieces of research published in these journals do not adequately demonstrate their ethical reflections and chosen ethical procedures. Only scientific procedures are extensively discussed. We think it is essential to develop an assessment of the ethical value of research that is featured in journals, in the same way that the methodological value is assessed. This paper reports what motivated our group to create an ethical scheme, how we developed this scheme and what was our process of validation. In the same way that today a study can be refused publication for methodological inadequacies, in the future publication could more likely be refused for ethical shortcomings.

The demand for consumer safety with regard to the food-processing industry is becoming, legitimately, more and more urgent. If ingested drugs can carry deleterious effects that exceed the beneficial effect that the research was initially undertaken for, then the same can only be the case for foods that stem from the same new biotechnologies, zero risk being non existent.