Egg donation: a gift of life after death?
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.WILL INFERTILE women one day be helped by eggs taken from women who have died, or from aborted foetuses? Doctors at the British Medical Association conference next week will debate whether young women should be encouraged to carry egg donor cards, giving surgeons permission to remove their eggs or ovaries if they should die, in the same way that many people now carry organ donor cards.
They will also discuss the question of whether eggs or ovarian tissue should be used from aborted foetuses. In such cases, a generation of human development would be skipped, making the woman who terminated her pregnancy the genetic grandmother of a new child - a science fiction scenario for many people. Dame Jill Knight's recent amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill would make the use of foetal material for infertility services illegal.
Meanwhile, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) has extended its consultation period on these issues to 15 July to allow more time for members of the public to air their views.
Scientists predict that, although the use of foetal material is some years away, they will be able, before the end of the year, to use eggs from women who have died. An infertile woman in Korea has become pregnant by that method.
So how do you explain to a child that its mother died as a young girl - or was never born at all? How would a woman who received such an egg feel? And what would it be like never to see your daughter grow up, but know that she was a mother?
Annabel Ferriman seeks views from women whose experiences have involved them in this debate, and from medical experts
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments