In the Spotlight

Tools
News & Features
Minnesota Public Radio presents The Fertility Race Part Eight: No Money For Eggs by Stephen Smith






No Money for Eggs
Complete audio of the public radio feature.

Fertility by Residence
For many British couples, their postal code seems to determine treatment eligibility.

LISTEN links
Audio illustrations found throughout this site.

Audio is RealAudio 2.0 14.4 kbps.

Fertility Race Home
Access to other installments in the series.





INFERTILE WOMEN IN THE UNITED KINGDOM who need another woman's egg to conceive typically wait years before getting matched with a donor. By contrast, there is no scarcity of donor eggs in the United States. The difference, experts say, is government regulation. In the UK, egg donors cannot get paid for their pains. In the free-market American infertility industry, women make $2,000 to $5,000 for supplying eggs. Sometimes more. Now the owner of a Los Angeles egg-donation agency is causing a stir by suggesting that American egg donors could help infertile British couples skip the long wait for eggs - by express mail and the Internet.

British Egg Shortage
The scarcity of donor eggs was Barabara's greatest hurdle.
British Ban, American Eggs
A businessman is creating controversy by promoting his American fertility facility in the UK.
Body Parts for Profit
The British response to importing American practices has been stong.
But Is It Legal?
Fertility regulation in the UK is far more strict than in the US.

Some of the names in this report have been changed to protect privacy.

September 17, 1998

[NPR] height= [MSNBC]

[CPB] [Kaiser Family Foundation]

Major funding for "The Fertility Race" is provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, with additional support from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation.