Childless British Couples Turns to Eggs Imported from America Amid Donor Shortage
This article was originally published by Daily Mail on April 17, 2011, written by Jo Macfarlane.
A fertility clinic has become the first in Britain to import human eggs from America to ease a growing shortage of donors.
The deal means that hundreds of women in the UK who are waiting up to 18 months for the chance to become mothers could be implanted with an egg within four months.
The clinic offering the service, Care Fertility, which has center’s across England, is run by IVF expert Professor Simon Fishel, who was part of the team which in 1978 created the first test-tube baby, Louise Brown.
The importing of frozen eggs is being organized with the help of the World Egg Bank, a commercial organization based in Lexington, Kentucky. Prof Fishel is on the board of the World Egg Bank.
He said: ‘This could reduce waiting times from about 12 to 18 months to four to six months.’
The procedure will cost around £12,000, nearly three times as much as using donor eggs from the UK.
It is thought to be only the second clinic to import eggs in bulk from overseas. Last year, it was reported a clinic was importing eggs from Russia. Previously, British women who could not face the long wait have had to go to clinics abroad.
The shortage of eggs in the UK has been blamed on strict rules that cap payments to donors at £250. In America, the limit is $5,000 (£3,000). Another cause of the shortage is believed to be a new rule requiring donors to sign a register so that children can trace their biological parents when they turn 18.
However, the World Egg Bank has a pool of about 50 donors who are prepared to accept the limited payments and to sign the register.
One of the donors is Rebecca, a 31-year-old from Tempe, Arizona, who earned £2,150 donating her eggs to a friend in America. Now she wants to help women in the UK, although she will earn no more than £250.
Rebecca, who works in advertising, said: ‘I’ve got lots of eggs. Donating them is a gratifying way to rescue ones my body would naturally dispose of. Hopefully it will bring a baby into someone’s life.’
The age limit for donors is 32. UK clinics will be given details about the donors, including hair and eye colour, medical history, height and education.
Shipping eggs from the United States can take as little as three days, but the process of harvesting them from a donor will take about three months.
Care Fertility began trials of the new scheme in Manchester last September. Of ten women who received American eggs, five are pregnant. The 50 per cent success rate compares to 40 per cent for UK donors.
Until now there have been very few donors from abroad. According to UK regulator the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), of 1,184 donors in 2008, 29 were from overseas.
The HFEA has just completed a public consultation into the UK donor shortage and will report its findings in July.
