Is it too easy to buy eggs and sperm in the US?

I've just been reading an interesting piece in the New York Times which compares the complicated process people face when adopting a child with the ease with which donor sperm and eggs can be purchased in the States. During adoption, the interests of the child are always paramount, as they should be, but with donor conception, the interests of the prospective parents may seem to lead the way.

Columnist Ross Douthat discusses a study of donor conceived adults which showed that many of them felt some unease about their conception, often because money had changed hands. Unlike the UK, donation in the States is not only paid but can also be anonymous. Although getting rid of anonymity in the UK was initially seen to have reduced the donor pool and created longer waits for donor treatment, it is likely that in the long run it will reduce the potential problems of donor conception making it possible to trace a donor parent.

You can read the article at www.nytimes.com

Human eggs for sale online

An interesting story in the papers today about a woman who put her eggs up for sale on the internet, apparently not realising that it is illegal to do so in the UK.

The woman - a 28-year-old businesswoman - claimed she needed to sell her eggs to pay off her student loans and was hoping to make more than £4,000 for her trouble. She had apparently read about how much egg donors could earn in a magazine which suggested many women in the UK were already selling their eggs. She posted her ad on a website where she said she'd seen another woman advertising her eggs for sale. The ad was accepted without any problems, and she had no idea that what she had done was illegal.

The woman admitted that her family had been horrified by her plans, fearing that she might regret her decision in the future. However, she remained confident that this would be a good way to pay off her debts whilst helping a childless couple.

Should we be shocked by this? Is it wrong? At the moment in the UK, although it is illegal to advertise human eggs for sale and you can't get paid for donating eggs, you can receive "reasonable expenses" but what constitutes "reasonable" is a grey area. The HFEA is currently reconsidering the rules on payment for egg and sperm donors, and this may clarify matters in the future.

You can read more here

Could you help highlight the need for egg donors?

If you've needed a donor egg to get pregnant, or have donated your eggs to help other women have children, The National Gamete Donation Trust would like to hear from you. They're launching a new campaign next month to try to highlight the need for more egg donors, and are looking for women who would be willing to tell their stories to encourage more donors to come forward. They're particularly keen to hear from anyone living in London. Birmingham, Bristol, Manchester or Liverpool who would be able to talk to the media. They will pay expenses and help you prepare for this.

This is a really important issue as there are incredibly long waiting lists for donor eggs in the UK now, and more and more couples are having to seek treatment overseas. If you think you may be interested, you can get in touch with the National Gamete Donation Trust at www.ngdt.co.uk