Regarding the research of embryos, consent is of high importance. Upon completion of infertility treatments, many women regularly have leftover embryos which they may decide to donate to scientific research instead of offering them to other women or having them destroyed. Acquiring informed consent for possible subsequent usage of these embryos honors the emotional attachment felt by the women.
During in vitro fertilization treatments, eggs that have failed to become fertilized or embryos that have failed to adequately develop for implantation are usually disposed of. The national laws of research allow for studies to be carried out on anatomical materials that are not able to be connected to donors. Therefore, the embryos that are discarded can be used for research without consent. This also means that leftover embryos which women decide to have destroyed after infertility treatments, may be marked as unidentified making it possible for them to be used in stem cell