The Eggsplanation

After a brief hiatus to venture to Asia to see the sights, Mary is BACK and starts a discussion about ethical issues in egg donation and Third Party Reproduction with her own COO, Julia French Blockhus.  Julia joined The Donor Solution in 2014 and has her own perspective on some of the ethical issues facing Third Party Parenting in 2026.   We delve into a couple of case histories and Julia offers...

The ongoing Ethics Scandals in the Surrogacy and Egg Donor world has shaken not only Intended Parents trust in the system but all the stakeholders in helping Parents realize their dream of family. In PART 2 of our series on Escrow Scandals in the Third Party Parenting world, we have the amazing Adam Winder, is President and CEO of SEED TRUST escrow and affiliated companies. With over 15 years expe...

Once again we are faced with a scandal of huge proportions with another bad player absconding with Intended Parents and Surrogates funds.  Many lost their life savings and have no way to move forward with Family Building and many were in the middle of their journey with no more funds to compensate the woman carrying their long awaited child.  Out guest today, Micheal Snaric, of "Families Out Loud"...

For the last of our series on "How old is TOO OLD to have a child via IVF" we will be discussing the medical concerns that face older women during pregnancy and how those medical issues can be detrimental to the baby AND the mother.   My guest, Dr. Traci DeSplinter, has a long career as an OB/GYN and I was fortunate to work with her early in my career in fertility.  She has delivered in her practi...

In our continuing series on "How OLD is too OLD to become a parent via IVF" I have a discussion with Rachel Goldberg, a Mental Health professional, who has tackled these complex and emotional issues in her practice.  Rachel brings a different perspective to the discussion from the legal and parenting views and you won't want to miss her insightful thoughts on this divisive issues amongst fertility...

Welcome to the 2nd Episode in our series on "How OLD is too OLD to Parent via IVF" with our guest, Stephanie Caballero, JD.   Stephanie helps us take a deep dive into the nuances of older parenthood and what we can and can not provide for these late stage parents.  We dive into a bit of Reproductive Justice (again!) while also discussing what it means to be the child of older parents and the issue...

The idea of Reproductive Autonomy, which means YOU decide what to do with your body, is at the heart of parenting.  But is there a time when it's just too late, or that "ship has sailed"?  We will start our four part series on these very questions with a chat with Mira Seldner, a new parent of two, with an older partner.  We explore their journey to parenthood and the issues that having an older p...

By whatever name you call, "Planned Surrogacy", "Social Surrogacy", "Designer Surrogacy" or even "LifeStyle Surrogacy", everyone can agree its a controversial subject with both the morality and the ethics of the practice called into question.  Today we discuss with two experts the choices people make when pursuing surrogacy as well as the pros and cons of choosing Surrogacy By Choice.  Dr. Angela...

Following up on our theme from the last episode, GENES and GENETIC screening and the BIOETHICS involved, this episode will by an in-depth look at Genetic Counseling and the good, the bad and the ugly of GENES.  Our guest from GENE-SCREEN, Emily Daugherty, will help us understand what genetic counseling does and doesn't do and does it support the BIOETHIC principles of Justice and Autonomy.

So what's all the hype about PGT?  Can it tell which is the best embryo?  Will it pick out the smartest and tallest embryo?  Is it overused and just an add-on in IVF?  Join us as we explore the world of PGT with Dr. Gary Harton, Chief Scientific Officer of NoVA Genomics and Founder and Principal of GROW Consulting and why PGT is BENEFICENCE in action.

Join our host, Mary Fusillo, for a fascinating look at the ethics and issues behind posthumous reproduction.  With the very sad case of a brain-dead woman being forcibly kept alive via mechanical means for over 15 weeks due to abortion laws in her home state prominent in the news to the use of sperm from non consenting males, our guest, Dr. Lisa Campo-Engelstein, the Chair of the Department of Bio...

On this episode of "The Eggsplanation" I welcome two veteran egg donors who will help me dig down into what disclosure in gamete donation means to them and what their thoughts are on the genetic connections they have to the children created with their help.

In Episode Two of “The Eggsplanation”, Mary discusses two bioethical principles, Justice and Beneficence in gamete donor cycles with a Third-Party Parenting attorney and the evolution from anonymous donor cycles to known or open cycles with the owners of an Egg Donor and Surrogacy agency that has started down a new path in sperm donation.           Rose Pondel joins us to break down the various le...

Mary Fusillo, RN, BSN, MS, introduces you to bioethics at the intersection of fertility and reproduction.   Stay tuned for our first full episode, coming in late May.