Genetic Testing in Assisted Reproduction Treatments with Donated Gametes at the Spanish Legislation

The proliferation of genetic testing in the field of assisted human reproduction has highlighted the inadequacy of current regulations in relation to issues such as gamete-donor screening and the information to be provided to patients regarding the genetic studies they undergo. In this context, the reproductive decisions of genetic testing users are based on the counselling provided by the fertility clinics that disseminate the proposed use of genetic tests as a means of responding to reproductive problems—as well as on a positive perception of these tests. Meanwhile, the lack of specific Spanish legislation regarding the performance of certain genetic tests facilitates the normalisation and routinisation of genomic technologies and information in IVF cycles, both among users—to the extent that they trust them and consider them increasingly relevant—and by fertility clinics themselves, which recommend their use. The aim of this chapter is to analyse the legal framework that regulates genetic testing in assisted reproduction treatments (in particular, carrier testing and genetic matching) with a twofold purpose: to highlight, on the one hand, the shortcomings of Spanish regulations in resolving the problems that arise in the field of reproductive decisions, and, on the other, to show how these shortcomings contribute to the increasingly widespread use of genetic testing.