HC Deb 16 December 2003 vol 415 c885W
Jim Dobbin

To ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what plans he has to prevent the sale of female eggs for fertility experiments; [143174]

(2) what his policy is on pharmaceutical companies offering financial inducements to women to donate eggs for use in fertility experiments; and if he will make a statement. [143445]

Miss Melanie Johnson

Infertility research involving the use of human eggs requires a licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) if those eggs are mature and are placed in storage at the research centre and/or are to be fertilised with human sperm to create a zygote or embryo. Women donating eggs to such projects can be paid a maximum of £15.00 per donation plus expenses.

The sale of human material that is not regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990, including immature eggs, will be made a criminal offence by the Human Tissue Bill, which was introduced on 3 December 2003.

All research projects involving the use of human gametes, including those that do not require a licence from the HFEA, must have the approval of the research centre's local research ethics committee before the project can go ahead.