Should Egg and Sperm Donations be Paid For
The UK’s fertility watchdog has called for a fresh debate on reversing the ban on paying egg and sperm donors.
Head of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, Professor Lisa Jardine, says proper payment may persuade more donors to come forward.
More and more British couples are going abroad for infertility treatment since the ban on payments was introduced.
The number of women using donated eggs and sperm fell by 25% and 30% respectively between 2004 and 2006.
Will payments increase the number of donors
My view is it will not. Donors on the whole do not donate for cash reward but to help people have the families that they have wanted for so long. The money would be better spent on raising media awareness of the need for donors. The same way the government has raised awareness of the need for organ donors.
For both men and women, unless they are in the situation where they have a close friend or relative who is having problems having a baby. It’s not a thing that one thinks about.
The only thing stopping many from donating is they haven’t been asked. have the idea that they would like to donate there is a lack of information available to get the ball rolling.
A man’s point of view
“sperm donation isn’t something you can do on a whim”
I contacted the National Gamete Donation Trust, who explained that sperm donation isn’t something you can do on a whim; it’s a long process. The nearest licensed clinic was a 152-mile round trip away. After producing a semen sample in a clinical room, with a drawer marked “magazines” for company, I bantered with the staff at the front desk. I didn’t think I’d see them again since only 4% of donors are actually accepted – 85% have sperm that cannot survive the freezing process; others either have sexually transmitted infections or genetic problems.
Mark Jackson full article from the Guardian
A woman’s View
“It wasn’t a big thing for me, less than a month of my life, but for the couple it’s a massive opportunity that lasts a lifetime”
MOTHER-of-two Angela Chand-Corey had already discovered the joy children can bring when she decided to bestow that treasured gift on childless couples who could only dream of one day holding a newborn of their own.
Even though beauty therapist Angela, from Quinton, had been sterilised, she has twice donated her eggs at Birmingham Women’s Hospital to help desperate couples with IVF.
She provided eggs for free on the NHS and today urged others to do the same for the Give Hope, Give Life campaign.
