CGS On Money, Eggs and Women

Women should not be paid for their eggs, and here is why, according to Jesse Reynolds, Project Director, Biotechnology Accountability, at the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland, Ca.

Reynolds sent his comment in connection with the "cash larded" item earlier today. If others would like to comment on this matter, you may use the comment function at the end of this item (click on the word comment) or send an email to me at djensen@californiastemcellreport.blogspot.com. Here is Reynolds' full comment.

"I'd like to make two clarifications, and an assertion.

"First, you state that 'One of the working assumptions of stem cell researchers is that IVF will provide a lot of eggs that could be used for science.' However, the assumption has generally been about a surplus of embryos - not eggs - created but not used for IVF. There are negligible surplus eggs in IVF. Because they are difficult to extract and do not store well, eggs are typically the limiting factor in IVF. (There is, however, some recent advances with freezing eggs.) Thus, any eggs for research generally must be designated as such from the start. In the US, there is little discussion of 'mixed donation' - providing eggs for both purposes in one extraction - although the UK is considering this. Egg extraction in the US is generally done as in an 'either/or' context.

"Your post could be interpreted as implying that eggs are needed for stem cell research. But the distinction between typical embryonic stem cell research and that using cloning techniques is often blurred. Almost all human embryonic stem cell research is done with surplus embryos from IVF. Only a tiny fraction of researchers are attempting to make clonal embryos for stem cell lines. This is what requires eggs. Stem cell lines are yet to be successfully derived from clonal embryos. Moreover, some observers and scientists are beginning to question to need for SCNT (a.k.a. research or therapeutic cloning) and thus the need for eggs. For example, see 'Beyond Fraud - Stem-Cell Research Continues' by Evan Snyder and Jeanne Loring and the lead story in our most recent newsletter.

"The Center for Genetics and Society believes that that women should not be paid for their eggs. It is true everyone else in the process gets paid, but they are doing their jobs. As a society, we've generally concluded that people should not risk their health for research in order to make income. That's why we are not allowed to sell organs, such as kidneys. The logic that 'everyone else is paid' would imply that kidney donors should be paid by the highest bidder.

"We conclude that economically vulnerable women should not be financially induced to put their health at risk for research that at this point is speculative and, all too often, hyped."