Egg donor compensation is to triple under new HFEA guidelines

I read an article about egg donor compensation. The compensation will be raised to 750 pounds in the UK.

Currently, egg donors have their expenses paid and up to ￡250 to cover lost earnings.

The UK's fertility watchdog has agreed to triple the compensation given to women who donate eggs to help infertile couples to have a child.

Experts believe this will encourage more women to donate.Today, in the UK, many infertile couples are seeking donor eggs for a very long time. However, egg donation is an invasive and painfull process for women. There are some side-effects; mood swings, bloating and pain, to rare but severe over-reactions to the hormones. In the current rules, some donors are out of pocket and they feel undervalued at times. Therefore, experts think that increased payments will help infertile couples.

But critics warn it may create financial incentives. Opponents worry about the impact of increased payments. "Ethically, it's wrong to make part of the human body a commodity," Dr David King, Director of Human Genetics Alert, said. He thinks that the body should not be part of commerce. Egg donation is an invasive and dangerous process. Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, thinks that we should not induce women to take such risks.



I have studied about egg donation. Egg donation is selected if women have a problem with their ovaries or eggs. For example, elderly women have almost no eggs which have the potential to be fertilized. Even if they can be pregnant, they miscarry in nine out of ten cases. So they get egg donation from young women. In Japan, Seiko Noda representative became pregnant and gave birth to a boy at age 50.

However, egg donation is very risky unlike sperm donation.This process has many potential of side-effects. In rare case, thrombocytopenia, dyspnea and so may be happen. The worst case in this process is leading to death. Some fatal case have been reported. If women have been injured their uteru or ovaries during the operation to recover the eggs, they may become infertile.

I don't want to donate eggs. Even if I can be paid 750 pounds, some risks are too dangerous.

Certainly, more financial compensation will encourage more women to donate eggs. But, it means they have greed for money. I think it seems like "a bet". They can get money, but in exchange, they might lose their health.

It is not wrong that infertile couples wish to have a child. However, I think they should think carefully about the risks of egg donation.



Hughes, Jane. & Gallagher, James. "Egg donor compensation is to triple under new HFEA guidelines." BBC Online. 19 October 2011. Web. 23 October 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15356148>