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Shortage of Sperm Donors cause the UK to Reevaluate Policy
Shortage of Sperm Donors cause the UK to Reevaluate Policy
Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is reviewing laws around egg and sperm donation to reconsider a shift in policy for this upcoming July. HEFA is a federal organization that regulates all infertility practices in the UK.
In Britain's new effort to reduce wait lists for infertility treatment, HFEA raises questions of compensation, anonymity and legality. The shortages of donated sperm in sperm banks cause waitlists for couples seeking infertility treatments such as IVF with sperm donation or ICSI with donated sperm. HEFA announced that some couples wait up to five years for treatment in the UK.
HEFA's concern stems largely from the fact that citizens of the UK are increasingly traveling abroad to undergo infertility treatments as a way of avoiding waitlists.
Should sperm and egg donors receive a compensation for their services?
HEFA bans paying donors for their services. Donors can claim a maximum of 250 for reasonable expenses.' This compensation includes costs of travel and loss of earnings but donors will not make a profit for their services. The amount one can claim depends largely on the time spent in the donation process. According to Reuters, some infertility clinics report donors who lose out financially.
The legality of donor compensation varies around the world. In the United States, for example, women can receive $1,000 for egg donation. In Spain, women can receive up to 900 and men get 45 for each valid sperm sample.
The debate of donor compensation is controversial. Those who oppose argue that donor compensation encourages the commercialization of something that should be done in good will. Supporters, however, claim that compensation in certain countries is the reason women can undergo IVF with egg donation without a wait list.
"HEFA plans to allow financial compensation for egg donors will lead to the exploitation of young women in financial stress," stated one member of a feminist group in the UK. "These financial incentives will induce women students with massively increased debts, and others, to take serious health risks and it is inevitable that many will be harmed."
Many believe the shortage of donations in Britain also stems from the 2005 ban on donor anonymity. The information collected when determining a donor's qualifications can later be given to a future child when he or she reaches the age of 18. Many potential donors are put off by the thought of a child contacting them in the future.
HEFA is also questioning donation within families. The BBC reported a donor who wanted to freeze her eggs for her infertile daughter. What does it mean for a child born from his or her grandmother's' eggs but birthed from a mother?' The parenting legality can become gruesomely complicated.
HEFA is running an ongoing consultation through April in which they ask UK citizens to express their beliefs on the subject matter. The consultation can be found at www.hfea.gov.uk/donationreview.
"We want to hear a range of reviews from both those directly affected and those who are interested in the issues," stated a HEFA representative.