The debate might eventually be a moot point, as researchers continue to make convincing headway with induced pluripotent cells, which seem to have all the properties of embryonic stem cells but which are created from adult cells. But both Mathews and Green acknowledge that creating a functional egg from skin or other cells still looks to be a long way off. “Generally the science moves pretty slowly and incrementally,” Mathews says. “It’s always difficult to predict, but if we could predict it, it wouldn’t be science.”
Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Shelling Out for Eggs."
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9 Comments
Add CommentWell, after all, men have been paid for sperm donations for year, and they experience zero risk. I think a big question is whether or not female donors will have the same level of anonymity that male donors have.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGood news, but there shouldn't be a limit, it's the individual's prerogative how many times they wish to donate.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI get fed up with the idea that women have to be protected from themselves for this. I just find it so paternalistic. It is a woman's choice to donate eggs, and the article rightly points out that people participate in research all the time which entails risks and has questionable benefit to themselves. Reasonable reimbursement is essential.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI live in Canada where it is also illegal to be paid for donating eggs or embryos, and if you are someone who needs a donated egg for fertility, you can almost forget about it unless you have a sister or friend who is willing. The law creates unnecessary hardship for those people who need the eggs, and a law like the one in New York creates unnecessary hardship for researchers who are trying to find new technologies to treat disease.
For women whose egg donation(s), for remuneration if they wished, and whose lives might be very helped by payment, why couldn't they even be recruited to do so, provided relevant testing shows them and their eggs to be healthy?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFor women whose egg donation(s), for remuneration if they wished, and whose lives might be very helped by payment, why couldn't they even be recruited to do so, provided relevant testing shows them and their eggs to be healthy?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSouth African egg donation does not permit egg donation for research. A limit is also set as to the number of times a woman can donate purely to protect her - along with the theory of every thing in moderation. Egg donors are offered a small donation and enter into an egg donor program with their eyes wide open. They understand the process in detail and have been through extensive counselling, so have to say exploitation is not on the cards in South Africa.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisbaby2mom Egg Donation and Surrogacy
www.baby2mom.co.za
kwnewton thats a simplistic answer. Think for a second about how sperm is obtained from men......
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIts a non invasive and non surgical procedure, it's done by hand as it were. Harvesting eggs from a woman of course requires a procedure that does indeed carry a risk.
That being said. I think it's entirely up to a woman what she chooses to do with her own body. If she wishes to risk fertility, or maybe isn't concerned because she has children already, then I see no reason why she shouldn't be paid for her donation.
Egg donation does not compromise a woman's fertility. If egg donors experience difficulties in trying to conceive post egg donation, it may be that they in fact had underlying issues pertaining to their reproductive systems - e.g. blocked fallopian tubes or even sperm issues - which would not have been checked or addressed during the egg donation program.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisbaby2mom Egg Donation and Surrogacy
www.baby2mom.co.za
@ubersquiz i think you misunderstood kwnewton's comment. i think that's exactly what they mean.
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