Eggschain, a startup based in Austin, Texas in the US, is about to revolutionise the reproduction industry. Founder and CEO Wei Escala says the company is building a supply chain solution on the blockchain to assist the process of in vitro fertilisation (IVF).
Eggschain is a DApp built on the Stacks blockchain, which allows people to build decentralised applications for Bitcoin. The Stacks proof-of-transfer (PoX) model also enables smart contracts and digital assets to be settled and verified on Bitcoin blocks.
Why Does IVF Need Blockchain?
By making sperm donations and embryo implantations available through registration on the blockchain, selection will be facilitated for clients across various jurisdictions. Patients’ data will be protected from human error or loss of information, and it will also ensure the system is more transparent.
Information collection on donors is extensive: data on subjects such as hereditary diseases, education level, hobbies, career paths and physical attributes all need to be recorded and kept. Through the use of smart contracts, Eggschain can store all of this data and attach it to each supplied sperm sample stored on the blockchain as an indelible, permanent record, making the selection of sperm a much easier experience.
Escala stresses that Eggschain, as it functions with Stacks, cannot be “backtracked” in such a way that the “family tree” can be traced. “When your sperm is donated, that is a transaction that gets hashed onto the blockchain with an indelible time stamp,” she says. Further transactions take place “when the sperm is implanted into a woman or into an egg”.
Just because someone received your donated sperm, it doesn’t give them the authority to read through your life – it is almost an invasion of your privacy.
Wei Escala, CEO, Eggschain
Patent Secured for Tracking Genetics on Blockchain
Eggschain has announced its patented solution for tracing the storage and transfer of blood, genome, tissues, organs, DNA, RNA, sperm, eggs, embryos and other biospecimens.
The Eggschain universal tracing and tracking platform will improve the supply chain process for medical professionals accessing information from initial donation through to testing and transfer, and deliver peace of mind for individuals and families undergoing IVF.
Blockchain technology for record-keeping is being implemented by other industries around the world. Earlier this year, Crypto News Australia reported on a collaboration between the Israeli Cotton Board and an Australian blockchain authentication platform, Security Matters, to trial the traceability of both organic and conventional cotton produced in the country.
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