LONDON, November 11, 2004 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The UK's Human Fertilization and Embryo Authority is considering revising its rules about payment for sperm and ova donations. The HFEA creates rules and guidelines regulating the in vitro fertilization industry and now, the cloning/embryo research industry as well.
Today the HFEA announced it would begin a consultation process to revisit the issue of payment for donors of sperm and ova. While technically illegal to outright pay for human gametes, reimbursement for expenses and compensation for 'inconvenience' are allowed.
IVF facilities have complained that the donation rate is down and it is expected to go lower when new rules are put in place that disallow donor anonymity. Donors are now paid £15 plus expenses, which could include things like cab fare.
The current rate is being called unjust since men and women are recompensed at the same rate. While a man donating sperm faces no physical risk, for a woman to donate ova involves drugs and an invasive procedure which could cause complications. Some clinics have suggested 'compensating' women as much as £1000.
The problem of where the eggs would come from was brought up when Canada's Human Reproductive Technologies act was being debated. MP's opposed to the bill warned that with the advent of embryonic stem cell research and cloning, pressure would increase to provide the raw material – human ova – which are difficult to obtain and do not store well frozen. International pro-life organizations are waking up to the dangers of rich western countries exploiting women in the developing world for thousands of ova that will be required annually for research to proceed.
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