An Examination and Analysis of the Attribution of Donated Embryos Based on the Imamiah School

The use of modern methods of pregnancy has raised questions in various fields and has created many issues in the field of the rights of both parties. One of these issues is the study of the parentage of the donated embryos, which is an important jurisprudential-social issue. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to understand and analyze the parentage of donated embryos and to examine their attribution to recipients of donations, based on the Shia jurisprudence.

This study is an analytical library-based. The keywords of fetus, donation and lineage in Shia narration and expressions of Shia jurists were investigated, and carefully analyzed based on jurisprudential-principled criteria. The author of the article did not report any conflict of interests.

In the use of modern artificial insemination techniques, how the newborn is assigned to donors is a sensitive issue. The findings showed that according to the Shiite jurisprudence, the real lineage of the child is related to the owner of sperm and ovum and the claim that due to the fetus owners’ withdrawal (due to donating it to the embryo banks or donating it to an infertile couple) they cannot claim the attribution of the child to themselves, is not is not acceptable because genealogy is not negated by withdrawal.

If the existence of a relationship between father, mother and infant is correctly proven, rights and duties such as sanctity of marriage, custody, maintenance and upbringing of infants, forced guardianship of father and paternal ancestor, alimony, inheritance between children fathers, mothers, relatives, etc., are forcibly created under the effects of lineage in the form of a right for the parties.