When the levels of compensation for egg donors were increased, it was generally welcomed as a good move. £750 was seen to be an acceptable rate to repay altruistic donors who faced considerable disruption and discomfort for their kindness. The HFEA was careful to point out that the fixed rate payment had been set at a level which would not attract "those who are merely financially motivated".
Having overheard a conversation between two shop assistants earlier this week, I am not sure this has turned out to be the case. My ears prick up automatically at any mention of fertility treatments, and when I heard one explaining to the other that she would have to go through a full IVF cycle, I assumed she was talking about her own fertility problems. Then, to my surprise, she went on to say that it was quite a lot to go through with the operation to collect the eggs and everything, but that she had concluded it was worth doing because it would be an awful lot of shifts in the shop to get the same amount of cash - and I realised she was talking about becoming an egg donor.
Admittedly, it was only a short conversation, but at no point at all was the thought of a child, of helping someone else or of the future consequences mentioned. Whether it was worth donating eggs or not focused entirely on how many shifts you'd have to work in a shop to get the same amount of money.
It made me feel terribly sad. I know we need more egg donors and I was in favour of the changes to compensation, but I really hope that young women like this are getting the advice and counselling that they need before making decisions about donating eggs. Although £750 probably doesn't seem much to the professionals running the HFEA, it's enough money to make a huge difference to many women in the UK. Of course, we want to compensate people properly, but we do have to be very wary of creating a situation where for young girls in need of cash, donating their eggs is a purely financial decision.
Showing posts with label egg donation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label egg donation. Show all posts
Monday, 8 October 2012
Friday, 5 October 2012
Eggs from skin cells
It's hard not to get excited about stories like today's news of Japanese scientists successfully creating embryos from skin cells which led to the birth of fertile offspring. The reality is that this is a technique still in the very early stages which is not going to be available in your local fertility clinic in the foreseeable future, but it's still an amazing development.
The Japanese team had already managed to create sperm from stem cells, and this is their latest advance. They performed a very complex experiment, creating eggs from skin cells, building an ovary-like structure to support the eggs when they transplanted them into the mice, and then using IVF techniques to fertilise the eggs. Not only did the embryos implant and lead to pregnancies, but the babies themselves have been shown to be fertile and able to reproduce.
There is still a very long way to go to find out whether this could work with human skin cells and eggs, but it does offer hope for the future. Fertility treatments have become more successful in recent years, but cannot reverse the effects of the biological clock on female eggs - and women who don't have viable eggs of their own currently need to use donor eggs. Today's news raises the possibility that perhaps one day in the future, there will be other options available.
The Japanese team had already managed to create sperm from stem cells, and this is their latest advance. They performed a very complex experiment, creating eggs from skin cells, building an ovary-like structure to support the eggs when they transplanted them into the mice, and then using IVF techniques to fertilise the eggs. Not only did the embryos implant and lead to pregnancies, but the babies themselves have been shown to be fertile and able to reproduce.
There is still a very long way to go to find out whether this could work with human skin cells and eggs, but it does offer hope for the future. Fertility treatments have become more successful in recent years, but cannot reverse the effects of the biological clock on female eggs - and women who don't have viable eggs of their own currently need to use donor eggs. Today's news raises the possibility that perhaps one day in the future, there will be other options available.
Monday, 26 September 2011
Too old to be a mum?
I've just been reading about the case of a Brazilian woman of 61 who is expecting a baby in November and the controversy it has caused. I think it's a shame that these very rare cases of much older women getting pregnant after fertility treatment often muddy the waters of the debate about assisted reproduction.
Although we seem to read about women approaching pension age having miracle babies in the papers fairly often, it's really most unusual for fertility clinics to treat women who are so far past the menopause. The woman in this case has said she is in "great health" but what constitutes great health for a woman of 61 is hardly the same as for a woman twenty years younger. By the time the woman's child is 18, she will be approaching 80 assuming she lives that long and it's the decision as to whether this would be fair on the child that should be paramount.
The saddest thing about these stories is that they perpetuate the myth that fertility treatment can offer a solution to age-related infertility. In fact, like many of the older celebrities we read about who suddenly get pregnant at a somewhat advanced age, the woman in this case used an egg from a donor. No matter how fit and healthy we may feel as we get older, getting pregnant gets harder the longer you leave it - and fertility treatment can't reverse the biological clock.
Although we seem to read about women approaching pension age having miracle babies in the papers fairly often, it's really most unusual for fertility clinics to treat women who are so far past the menopause. The woman in this case has said she is in "great health" but what constitutes great health for a woman of 61 is hardly the same as for a woman twenty years younger. By the time the woman's child is 18, she will be approaching 80 assuming she lives that long and it's the decision as to whether this would be fair on the child that should be paramount.
The saddest thing about these stories is that they perpetuate the myth that fertility treatment can offer a solution to age-related infertility. In fact, like many of the older celebrities we read about who suddenly get pregnant at a somewhat advanced age, the woman in this case used an egg from a donor. No matter how fit and healthy we may feel as we get older, getting pregnant gets harder the longer you leave it - and fertility treatment can't reverse the biological clock.
Thursday, 24 June 2010
Official warning on online sperm agencies
The UK's fertility regulator has just issued a warning about online donor services, after a number of media stories about agencies offering to put people in touch with potential donors.
It all sounds quite simple, but in fact there are very real risks to using this kind of service. The agencies often claim to operate in a grey legal area where they only provide an introduction, rather than eggs or sperm. Even so, many online donor services are still working on the wrong side of the law. The reason for our stringent legislation when it comes to sperm and egg donation is to keep people safe. Using an agency, you can't guarantee you get the donor you think you are paying for, you don't know if sperm samples are screened or are safe and none of the safeguards that the law provides will apply.
I think it's particularly frightening that many of these sites offer fresh sperm. In licensed clinics, sperm samples have to be frozen before use to ensure that the donor hasn't contracted any kind of infection, such as HIV, since he was last screened. With an online service providing fresh sperm, it simply isn't possible that a sample can be guaranteed to be safe.
Not only are there safety issues, using an online agency can cause huge issues in the future over legal parenthood. If a man donates through a licensed clinic, he is not the legal father of the child born through the donation. This is not the case with an unlicensed donation where, in fact, the donor would be the legal father and could be legally and financially responsible for any offspring.
It may seem an attractive idea, it may be quick, but it certainly isn't safe or sensible to use an online agency and you could be creating problems for both yourself and your future child.
The HFEA have issued at statement which you can read at www.hfea.gov.uk
It all sounds quite simple, but in fact there are very real risks to using this kind of service. The agencies often claim to operate in a grey legal area where they only provide an introduction, rather than eggs or sperm. Even so, many online donor services are still working on the wrong side of the law. The reason for our stringent legislation when it comes to sperm and egg donation is to keep people safe. Using an agency, you can't guarantee you get the donor you think you are paying for, you don't know if sperm samples are screened or are safe and none of the safeguards that the law provides will apply.
I think it's particularly frightening that many of these sites offer fresh sperm. In licensed clinics, sperm samples have to be frozen before use to ensure that the donor hasn't contracted any kind of infection, such as HIV, since he was last screened. With an online service providing fresh sperm, it simply isn't possible that a sample can be guaranteed to be safe.
Not only are there safety issues, using an online agency can cause huge issues in the future over legal parenthood. If a man donates through a licensed clinic, he is not the legal father of the child born through the donation. This is not the case with an unlicensed donation where, in fact, the donor would be the legal father and could be legally and financially responsible for any offspring.
It may seem an attractive idea, it may be quick, but it certainly isn't safe or sensible to use an online agency and you could be creating problems for both yourself and your future child.
The HFEA have issued at statement which you can read at www.hfea.gov.uk
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