July 26, 2005

scientists comment on egg donation request

These comments follow the news that cloning expert Ian Wilmut is seeking permission from the HFEA to ask women to donate eggs for research purposes.

Professor Christopher Shaw, Department of Neurology, Institute of Psychiatry (joint holder of licence for human cloning with Ian Wilmut), said:

“One reason that we are thinking of using eggs donated specifically for research is that women have approached us to do just that. They felt that they wanted to donate eggs to speed up progress to find new treatments for motor neurone disease. So far the women that have offered their eggs are those whose lives have been touched by the disease affecting a friend or family member. However, other women who have no connection with the disease, may be willing to donate eggs to support scientific research. Women are seeking to donate for altruistic reasons – there will be no financial incentive. If they are made fully aware of what is involved in the egg donation procedure and its risks, then I think it is ethical.”

“There are important biological reasons why we will be looking to use eggs donated specifically for Science. Currently, under the HFEA licence we are allowed to use eggs that have failed fertilisation during IVF treatment. These eggs age quickly and are often of poor quality. Dr Hwang’s group in Korea report that they have never succeeded in cloning and generating stem cells from eggs that have failed IVF. While Alison Murdoch’s group in Newcastle did succeed in cloning IVF eggs, the embryos perished before stem cell lines could be derived. This is an extremely difficult procedure and there is no doubt that freshly donated eggs will give us the best chance of success.”

Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer, Reproductive and Developmental Medicine, Sheffield University, said:

“Personally I can see no problem with women donating eggs specifically for this research if the donors give their consent, are fully informed about the research and about the risks to their health; ethically it is no different to taking part in a clinical trial.”

Laura Riley, Director of Progress Educational Trust, said:

“Women donating eggs for purely for research purposes is not wthout precedent. As early as 1984, women undergoing laparascopic sterilisation underwent mild ovarian stimulation in order to produce eggs that could be collected and used in fertility research. Throughout the early 90’s prior to the introduction of embryo freezing, some centres in the UK would also ask women who produced many more eggs than they would need in their own treatment if they would donate some to research. Neither of these procedures for egg donation required women to undergo additional surgical procedures in addition to that required for their own treatment. These women chose to donate their eggs in the recognition of the contribution they could make towards research in embryology or fertility treatment.

“Ian Wilmut’s request for egg donors to come forward, if he is given the go-ahead, may be attractive to a very small number of women. These women will be specifically interested in making a contribution to research into motor neurone disease. It seems likely that only a few women will volunteer to undergo an invasive surgical procedure and the preceding course of drugs, having balanced the potential benefits to research against their personal health risk. But where women do make free choices to donate their eggs altruistically, we should respect their competence to make informed decisions.

There is little practical likelihood of women being offered vast amounts of money to donate their eggs from this kind of academic research programme. Any researchers in the UK seeking donated eggs will adhere to HFEA guidelines, which currently recommend the payment of limited expenses only to egg and sperm donors.”