October 19, 2011

expert reaction to HFEA meeting on compensating egg and sperm donors

The meeting held by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority discussed whether egg and sperm donors should be compensated more than they currently receive.

Dr Allan Pacey, Senior Lecturer at the University of Sheffield, said:

“The system by which we pay out of pocket expenses and compensation to sperm and egg donors has not worked well in the past few years. The £250 cap in place since 2006 has arguably discriminated against egg donors, many of which have told me that they were ‘out of pocket’ at the end of their donation and did not feel they had been adequately compensated.

“Given the report published by the Nuffield Bioethics Council last week, the HFEA is right to review the system of payments allowed to sperm and egg donors. To increase payments to egg donors to about £750 would put the UK in line with countries such as Spain where egg donors can receive about €800. To have a smaller compensation for sperm donors is quite right in my view and a figure of £35 is similar to what sperm donors in Denmark can claim.

“In recent years we have been struggling to recruit sufficient sperm and egg donors in the UK and this decision may help to reverse that trend. However, it is only part of the answer. We still need to keep raising awareness of the need for donors and we also need to try and change the culture so that being a sperm or egg donor is celebrated rather than something which is never spoken about.”