More warnings that there are not enough eggs to meet the demands of cloning research and that the solution to this shortage in the US is to be able to pay women for their eggs.

“In an article published in Nature last week, Kevin Eggan and Douglas Melton from Harvard University’s Stem Cell Institute claim the lack of available eggs is hindering the progress of stem cell research in the US. They explain how researchers are facing difficulties in obtaining human eggs for use in ‘therapeutic cloning’ because in the states that prohibit researchers to pay egg donors woman are choosing to donate their eggs to fertility clinics instead. Fertility clinics are permitted to pay donors, who can receive up to $10,000 per donation, but some states do not allow payments to be made in cases where eggs are donated for research purposes. In these situations, stem cell researchers must instead rely on ‘spare’ eggs left over after IVF or on donors to give eggs altruistically.”

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.