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Warning to young women after surge in egg donations to fertility clinics despite risk of severe side effects
WOMEN as young as 18 are risking their health by donating their eggs in return for cash, campaigners warn.
Surrogacy Concern said the number of 18 to 25-year-olds signing up to donate to private fertility clinics shot up from 190 in 2012 to 509 in 2022.
It is illegal in the UK to buy a woman’s eggs but clinics can pay up to £985 for expenses.
The campaign group said some openly advertise the sum to young women and pay the full amount without asking for receipts.
It said donation is generally safe but can be uncomfortable, with possible severe side-effects such as ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, bowel perforations, abscesses and even sepsis.
Surrogacy Concern founder Helen Gibson said teenagers may also underestimate the effects on their mental health.
She said: “We’re really worried that women are doing this for money and are not being fully informed of the risks to their health.
“This is a lot of money at any age but especially if you’re working-class or a student.
“You could do it three times and make nearly £3,000, and you’re allowed to do up to ten cycles. It’s insanity.
“We want the minimum age for donation to rise to 25, all payments ended to remove the risk of financial motivation and adverts asking for young women to donate their eggs to be banned.”
Donor eggs must be taken from women younger than 35 as that is when they are most fertile.
They take hormone drugs to stimulate the ovaries before the eggs are removed with a needle.
Health Minister Karin Smyth said the £985 compensation had risen from £750 due to inflation, and clinics’ ads are under the jurisdiction of the Advertising Standards Agency.
She said: “We will monitor the issues raised.
“Women’s health, particularly inequalities, are absolutely central to this Government’s priorities.”
