Rosemann Achim, Luo Huiyu
Department of Sociology, Philosophy and Anthropology, University of Exeter, Byrne House, FS3, Exeter, EX4 4PJ, UK.
Centre for Bionetworking, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK.
J Bioeth Inq. 2018 Sep;15(3):441-457. doi: 10.1007/s11673-018-9862-9. Epub 2018 Jul 2.
Bioethical debates on the use of human embryos and oocytes for stem cell research have often been criticized for the lack of empirical insights into the perceptions and experiences of the women and couples who are asked to donate these tissues in the IVF clinic. Empirical studies that have investigated the attitudes of IVF patients and citizens on the (potential) donation of their embryos and oocytes have been scarce and have focused predominantly on the situation in Europe and Australia. This article examines the viewpoints on the donation of embryos for stem cell research among IVF patients and students in China. Research into the perceptions of patients is based on in-depth interviews with IVF patients and IVF clinicians. Research into the attitudes of students is based on a quantitative survey study (n=427). The empirical findings in this paper indicate that perceptions of the donation of human embryos for stem cell research in China are far more diverse and complex than has commonly been suggested. Claims that ethical concerns regarding the donation and use of embryos and oocytes for stem cell research are typical for Western societies but absent in China cannot be upheld. The article shows that research into the situated perceptions and cultural specificities of human tissue donation can play a crucial role in the deconstruction of politicized bioethical argumentation and the (often ill-informed) assumptions about "others" that underlie socio-ethical debates on the moral dilemmas of technology developments in the life sciences.
关于将人类胚胎和卵母细胞用于干细胞研究的生物伦理辩论，常常因缺乏对那些在体外受精诊所被要求捐赠这些组织的女性和夫妇的观念及经历的实证洞察而受到批评。已开展的调查体外受精患者及公众对其胚胎和卵母细胞（潜在）捐赠态度的实证研究很少，且主要集中在欧洲和澳大利亚的情况。本文考察了中国体外受精患者和学生对为干细胞研究捐赠胚胎的观点。对患者观念的研究基于对体外受精患者和体外受精临床医生的深度访谈。对学生态度的研究基于一项定量调查研究（n = 427）。本文的实证研究结果表明，在中国，人们对为干细胞研究捐赠人类胚胎的看法远比通常所认为的更加多样和复杂。那种认为对为干细胞研究捐赠和使用胚胎及卵母细胞的伦理担忧是西方社会所特有的，而在中国不存在这种担忧的说法是站不住脚的。本文表明，对人类组织捐赠的情境化观念和文化特殊性进行研究，在解构政治化的生物伦理论证以及关于“他人”的（往往是信息不充分的）假设方面可以发挥关键作用，这些假设构成了关于生命科学技术发展道德困境的社会伦理辩论的基础。
