"From Machon Puah"

Supervision - The Practice

After looking at the halachic basis for supervision of fertility treatments we will now move to the actual practicalities of how supervision is performed.
Even though each laboratory has similar elements, each one is built differently and has certain unique methods of working and of use of equipment. Therefore, a careful inspection of the lab has to be performed prior to any supervision being carried out. The embryologists must discuss how they work and how they can accommodate the supervisor in the laboratory.
Many lab directors and medical professionals are willing and even happy to permit supervision, especially after we explain the need for supervision to them and that supervision does not suggest that they are dishonest or sloppy in their work. Still, not all embryologists find it easy to work together with supervision or with the supervisors. We often describe this situation with the following example: Many women check rice or lettuce, or other such vegetables that may contain bugs and “unwanted visitors”. How many women would be willing to allow another woman to stand behind them and “double-check”, pointing out where a mistake had been made? Most people would not be too comfortable with such a scenario of another person breathing down their neck and checking up on them.
Some embryologists see supervision in the same way. They do not want or like supervision and it requires a great deal of patience and understanding to know how to convince them that supervision is a halachic necessity and that it will not compromise their work or their success rates. In fact, the opposite may be the case, since couples who have supervision often have a more positive attitude to their treatment and this contributes to the success of the treatment.
However, supervision does require that the supervisor has constant and direct eye contact with the treatment. She cannot watch the procedure on a camera or from a different place, but she must be physically present in the laboratory and operating room if necessary, depending on the actual fertility unit.
The supervisor needs to be present during the entire procedure to witness the validity of the lineage of the child produced in the lab. She cannot go out to take a telephone call or for her personal needs, and, as we have already written, this is even more strict than the highest standards of kashrut supervision. So the supervisor must be present, must have direct and constant eye contact and still not hinder the medical procedures.
How is this possible? More on this next week.

The Puah Institute is based in Jerusalem and helps couples from all over the world who are experiencing fertility problems. Puah offers free counseling in five languages, halachic supervision, and educational programs. Offices in Jerusalem, New York, Los Angeles and Paris. Contact: (02) 651-5050 (Isr). http://www.puahonline.org

• Other "From Machon Puah"
• Supervision - is it really necessary?
• Training Supervisors
• Supervision - Who are the Supervisors