The Government's Fertility watchdog is investigating whether women who donate their eggs should receive more than the current sum of £15.  Some clinics are suggesting sums of up to £1,000 as a way of compensating women for the 'inconvenience'.  However critics see it as an undesirable and unethical financial incentive.

Personally I am totally against the donation of eggs whether there is payment involved or not.   Anyone of the same mind (or not !) ?

I certainly am not against the donation of eggs.

Having been refused fertility treatment because of the shortage of donor eggs I would encourage anything that might enable couples to have a family.

I think it's important to see this from the child's view rather than the parents.  The parents have a choice, the child doesn't.

And never will do, if it isn't given life. Which child does ask to be born, anyway?

Nor do they when born naturally without intervention - I don't understand your point?

A child born without 'artificial' intervention will at least grow up with the knowledge that it's parents are its true parents.  Those born of a donated egg or sperm are denied this basic right.
I'm afraid I just don't go along with the view that couples are entitled to a family whatever it takes.

Unfortunatlely the ones who are able to have kids dont always make the best parents, so there is no reason why those who are unable to have kids shouldnt be given the opportunity, the chances are they will make better parents because they will cherish what they didnt think they would ever have.

I agree with JG.  I myself have spent the last 5 years trying to conceive and whilst egg donation is not an option I would consider everyone is different and if it stops years of mental suffering for childless couples then I say good on them.

Michelle

OK,

Don't want to start WW3 here but, I have a question which has been bothering me for some time on this very subject.

I have bred both dogs and cats, all owners are vetted thoroughly and I have refused some because I wasn't confident they were the right people.  Would I let one of mine go to someone I didn't vet personally ?  - no way, I feel personally responsible for every pup/kitten I have bred (admittedly not many). 
And yet women who donate their eggs are doing just this, in fact they are expected to.  Am I the only person who thinks it should be different?  After all, any child resulting from this procedure would have half 'my genes'.

As for compensating women for the inconvenience, yes I think they should be, having the hormone injections and resulting changes to the body can be a very emotional and uncomfortable time, not to mention the health risks, £15 for that is not enough.

Sorry if I'm offending anyone by making comparisons.

I think the compensation issue is always going to get mixed reactions, my opinion though is that you dont have to donate your eggs so dont see why the compensation should be £1,000. Yes I agree with being reimbursed for time off work transport etc but not £1,000. JMO though :).

Michelle

Really? What about the fact that a high percentage of fathers are believed to not actually be the true biological fathers?

Just re-inforces the need for higher morals imo.

Higher morals are a good thing. However, where are you going to draw the line Joyce? Are you against liver and cornea donation? Kidney? Heart?

Yes Joyce - I agree. In a perfect world perfect children would be born to perfect parents with perfect marriages. Only its not perfect. And some perfect parents can't have children. My friend has donated 3 eggs that have gone on to provide 3 children to 3 families - and they all would not be here today if not for her generosity and kindness and willingness to help people. I am so proud of her for doing that.

I don't necessarily think that deciding NOT to donate your eggs (for whatever reason) demonstrates you are unwilling to help people per se or any less generous or kind!

After all, we ALL have choices to make, we ALL have differing outlooks, and we ALL have lines we do not cross.

I, for example, am a regular blood donor, and carry an organ transplant card.

However it is my choice NOT to donate my eggs and no one should feel that they have to justify these personal decisions.

If you want to donate your eggs, fine; if you don't, that is equally acceptable!

Hmmm - I don't think i said that deciding not to donate your eggs demonstrates you are unwilling to help people....

I do, however, support those that do in order to help those that can't.

>A child born without 'artificial' intervention will at least grow up with the knowledge that it's parents are its true parents.

Recent DNA tests have shown that to be untrue! ;)

A child born without "artificial" intervention will at least grow up with the knowledge that it's parents are it's true parents

What about adopted children then? Their parents are not their "true biological" parents. Or is this different in your opinion?

I am of the opinion that as long as the child receives all of the things that a child needs ie, love, guidance etc it doesn't matter how they came to be in this world :)

It's different for adopted children in that there isn't any intervention involved in their birth - their situations are usually circumstance related.

So children conceived by IVF are never adopted then?

Personally i feel my eggs are worth far more than £1,000

I would never donate my eggs to anyone.  If you cannot breed perhaps there is a good reason........................

Children are a gift not a right.

Well, thanks for that, Tohme.

I would gladly give eggs to help my best friend get to the top of the list because she can't get pregnant because of a medical error earlier in her life. Is that a good enough reason for her to get help because she can't "breed"?

This is such a difficult question :( Whilst I would have been really upset if I couldn't have my own children, some of today's reproductive methods really do make me feel very uneasy :( It is probably too early to be able to do any meaningful research into the feelings of children produced by 'unusual' conception methods. My main concerns would be how the child views their existance. (This can also apply to some naturally conceived children :( ). What is the legal status of the child who has a 'donor' parent ? An adopted child has a clear legal position. What would happen if the parents of a child conceived by a donor parent divorced ? Could the father claim that the mother wasn't the natural mother and therefore didn't have rights to the child ?

The whole thing is a minefield and very careful consideration should be given to it IMHO

Daisy

well if anyone wants some of mine for £1000,they are welcome

i also know what its like to have a question mark over paternaty as i have NO idea who my father is......know what ?its not that bad!!!!!

Quote:  I would never donate my eggs to anyone.  If you cannot breed perhaps there is a good reason........................

  Ouch, that's a bit harsh, there are loving couples in this world desperate for children, we've been lucky enough to have 4 very healthy children and I feel so sorry for people that can't.  When we first started trying for our first child, it took us 3 years, my GP told me because I had been diabetic so long I possibly wouldn't be able to have any, that was the worst feeling in the world!

I would GIVE my eggs willingly!

If you cannot breed perhaps there is a good reason.  Gosh thats a bit harsh. 

>If you cannot breed perhaps there is a good reason........................

It must be wonderful to be genetically perfect. After all, only perfect people should breed, shouldn't they? (Hang on. Wasn't that one of Hitler's ideals?) But if you think about it, with egg donation, the recipient mother's genes aren't being reproduced, are they? So that blows that idea straight out of the water.

If I was brave enough to do it, I would quite happily donate to those who wanted children but cannot have them.   I have no desire & have never had any desire to have children and (If I am able to conceive naturally) I would be more than delighted to let somebody have the opportunity to use my eggs to start their own family.   

What about those people who have had to have chemotherapy for cancer, this robs them of the ability to conceive naturally usually, why should they still not have the chance to have children?   It doesn't make them any less worthy to have children and for the fact that they are so 'wanted' probably means the child will be born into a good homelife unlike the majority of teenage mothers who have one for the status symbol and umpteen benefits it brings.

I am not against egg donation at all. Nor am I against paying women for egg donation, I believe men get paid for sperm donation, I guess you are against that as well Joyce?

We've been blessed (?) with four children.   I thoroughly enjoyed BEING pregnant but I think I must be a moral coward - I would have been happy to carry a baby for someone that meant something to me - but I do not think I would have been able to withstand the criticism/judgments that go with this!   My 4 children mean the world to us, and had it been possible to help someone else that I know, then I would have liked to - not for money, but out of love.

REgards
Margot

I think egg donation is wonderful, one of the most altruistic/unselfish things someone could do for another person.  I am very lucky, I have 3 wonderful children.  From a small child all I ever wanted was my own children and if I had been unable to have them I would have been more than devastated.  I always wanted four, but due to an operation that went wrong I can have no more, which I still find upsetting, but I do realise how lucky I am!  Maybe having children is not a basic RIGHT, but it is certainly what we are put on this earth for (I know not everybody chooses to have children, and that is the great thing about our lives today - CHOICE).

Fiona

Ethical grounds aside, I think offering a temptation sum like £1000 is wrong because donating eggs is not without risk.  Overstimulating ovaries can be life threatening therefore I think the treatment should only be undertaken by a donor for altruistic reasons rather that an impoverished woman being driven to it.  It doesn't really compare to men donating sperm which carries no apparent risk unless the eyesight theory is right :p  Many infertility centres run egg sharing schemes whereby some of the egg harvested are donated to others in return for reduced price IVF this seems much more acceptable to me allthough it must be jolly hard on the donor if her attempt fails and the recipients attempt succeeds.

Isabel, in what way can overstimulating ovaries be life threatening?  I personally would have no problem with someone giving eggs in order to help pay the bills - they are desperately needed, so I can't see a problem.

Alexanders, Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome OHSS, not common but deaths have occured, large amounts of fluid is produced in the abdomen and chest, I'm sure you could find out more on Google if you need to.

added here is a link http://www.2womenshealth.co.uk/10-16.htm

thanks for that Isabel.

Fiona

Yes, spot on, Melody, I AM against sperm donation too ;).

I just think it is ethically wrong to produce children in this way. I believe that one of the most fundamental human needs is to know where you came from.  It must be awful not knowing your roots, wondering whose looks or characteristics you've inherited.  The idea that donating eggs is 'a lovely kind, generous thing to do'
detracts from the seriousness of the issue.  Any woman who donates her eggs is giving away her children, imo.

And I also agree with the poster who said that there must be a reason why some people cannot reproduce.  For some couples, having children is just not meant to be.

I respect your POV Joyce but I still disagree with it. I do not believe that a woman who donates her eggs is giving away her children though. A woman produces hundreds of eggs in her egg producing years and generally only makes use of a few :)

indeed - and an egg isn't a child unless it has a father and a body in which to grow.

Joyce - I would rather be the child of a donar mother/father brought up by a loving couple than an adopted child who was "abandoned" at birth.

With all due respect Melody and Chloe, I thought that the whole point of donating eggs was to provide babies for someone else. So if those eggs have the desired result and become babies then of course you're giving away your children. The only difference is that they'll be fertilised by another man.  Half of their genes will be your genes, just like any children you have with your husband.  This is a fact that you can't avoid or change.

It is an interpretation Joyce. My *children* are the ones that I have given birth to. The eggs I carry are simply *potential* children. You may as well say that every time a man ejaculates, he is killing his children...

And that every month a woman has a period, she has killed one of her children ...

No, Melody, it is not an interpretation, it's a fact.  If you donated an egg to another woman and that egg was fertilised, and 9 months later resulted in a baby, that baby would be as much a part of you, genes wise, as your own children are. Perhaps they wouldn't mean anything to you emotionally but they would still be your offspring.

And those who are talking about periods and ejaculation are really splitting hairs.  The donating of eggs and sperm is done with the sole intention of creating another life which I'm sure most people will acknowledge, is entirely different.

I disagree Joyce. Giving away eggs is giving away my *potential* babies. Once I no longer have that egg it is no longer a potential baby of mine. It carries my genetic make up yes but it is no longer my potential child.

I am off to work now  :)

OK, Melody, so you give away some of your eggs. One of them produces a son for an unknown couple.  That boy grows up knowing nothing about his beginnings.  As far as he's concerned the people who brought him up are his true parents.
He goes to university, meets one of your daughters and falls in love.  They decide to marry and have children. 

If you knew of the connection would this sit comfortably with you ? Would you give your blessing to the marriage of two of your biological 'children' ? 
Even more worrying, though, is that you probably wouldn't even know they were related. 
Long odds, yes, but entirely possible.

I believe the law is that any offspring must be told their true beginnings.

I wonder whose job it is to police and enforce that particular law ?

Why on earth would the parents of a donor baby keep their true beginnings from them? If I needed a donor to have a child I would tell that child asap. They can then apply for information to prevent exactly this type of problem occuring.

At what age would you explain the circumstances, Chloe ?  When would a child be able to understand about donating eggs and sperm ?  And what guarantees would you have that the parents of the person they wanted to marry had been as honest and direct as you ?