Friday, 26 March 2010

US egg donors paid too much?

The human egg raffle (see previous post), raised quite a lot of debate here about payment for egg donors and whether that might help solve the shortage of donor eggs. Indeed, recompense for donors is something the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is considering in the UK.

However, a new study from the US shows how careful you have to be once you set that ball rolling. It discovered that many egg donors are currently being paid considerably more than the guidelines suggest, particularly those with good grades at good universities. Apparently ads appear in University newspapers across the US offering considerable sums in exchange for eggs. Is that really a route we'd want to follow here? Is it possible to pay donors more than the paltry amounts they currently receive in the UK and still keep the situation under control? And if so, how can that be done?

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