A New Set of Problems

In Britain, officials have sought to avoid the dilemmas associated with egg donation by limiting the payment to egg donors to about $24--the same paid to sperm donors.

By capping payment, British authorities hope to involve only altruistic donors who feel deeply committed to helping an infertile couple. But the result of this policy has been an enormous waiting list for women seeking egg donation. According to a recent story from the Sunday Times of London, 62 babies were born from egg donors in 1992 while 2,000 couples waited for donors.

Moreover, the British Medical Assn. recently created an uproar by suggesting that eggs could be harvested from aborted fetuses and young women who die.

“We are not scientifically or ethically ready for this,” says John Robertson, a University of Texas scholar on reproductive health issues. “We haven’t explored the issues. It’s very complicated.”