oa Understanding the Origins and Impact of the Heterogeneous Policy Environment for Egg Donations

The use of donated eggs is an important component of assisted reproduction and plays a prominent role in certain lines of scientific inquiry, particularly in the area of stem cell research. Yet despite these benefits, egg donation remains extremely controversial. One result of this ethical controversy has been the development of a heterogeneous policy environment where the rules for egg donation for both reproduction and research vary substantially from one country to the next or even within countries. In this presentation, I review the major policy options for egg donation that have been adopted around the world and discuss the justifications for these policies. Then, drawing on international data on assisted reproduction and published stem cell research using donated eggs, I offer a preliminary assessment of how these policy choices affect the availability of donated eggs for both reproduction and research purposes.