Should women be able to donate their eggs for scientific research? HFEA announces plans for consultation

27 July 2006

The HFEA have announced today how it will develop new guidance on whether it is appropriate for women to donate their eggs for use in scientific research with plans for a full public consultation from September onwards.

Developments in stem cell technology mean researchers are looking for fresh human eggs to carry out their projects. Some doctors and scientists have expressed concern over how researchers will obtain their eggs and there are fears that women could be pressurised into donating eggs and have their health put at risk.

Authority members of the HFEA agreed yesterday the timings and detail of a full public consultation which will run from September to November.  These responses will then be analysed and considered by the HFEA's Ethics and Law Committee, with the full Authority expected to make a decision in February 2007. Guidance and any other appropriate regulatory measures will be issued following this decision in the Spring 07.

Key issues for consideration will be:

• Medical Risks ? in particular the effects of ovarian stimulation drugs and whether there are any particular issues for women who are solely donating for research and not also having treatment.
• Consent ? how women can be protected from the risks of being coerced into egg donation
• The supply of donated  eggs for treatment - whether allowing donation for research will limit the ability of clinics to provide egg donor treatment for women
• International issues ? whether UK arrangements for obtaining eggs for research could affect the international use of the results of any successful research, particularly whether stem cell lines derived from UK donated eggs could be used internationally. In addition, how any policy made would work alongside new EU rules
• How any regulatory regime would work in practice ? an assessment of how well women's interests are safeguarded in any donation system. The HFEA has offered a licence to one centre to carry out early work on egg sharing to provide eggs for research on the condition that regular information on their progress is available to feed in to the consultation process
  
  Doctors and scientists have already welcomed the HFEA's plans to consult on this issue. The British Medical Association's ethics committee will also discuss egg donation for research in September 06 and their views will be fed in to the HFEA's deliberations.
  
  A wide range of groups are expected to respond to the consultation, including fertility clinicians and embryologists, scientists and stem cell research organisations and patient and donor support groups. It is likely that there will also be international input from those associated with stem cell work.

Chief Executive of the HFEA, Angela McNab said:

"We know there are a wide variety of views on the subject of donating eggs for research and we anticipate a strong response to the consultation from professional groups, scientists, clinicians and patients as well as the public.

"It's important to capture those views and to understand the issues that are unique to donating eggs for research rather than for treatment so that any policies made as a result of the consultation are well-balanced and evidence-based."

Ends.

Notes to editors

The HFEA is the independent regulator for IVF treatment and embryo research. Our role is to protect patients and the public interest, to drive improvement in the treatment and research sectors and to provide information to the public and policymakers about treatment and research.

The HFEA was set up in August 1991 as part of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990.  The HFEA's principal tasks are to license and monitor clinics that carry out in vitro fertilisation (IVF), donor insemination (DI) and human embryo research. The HFEA also regulates the storage of gametes (eggs and sperm) and embryos.