Subsidized IVF: the development of 'egg sharing' in the UK

Egg sharing is an arrangement in which a woman is offered free or reduced-cost assisted conception treatment in return for ‘donating’ oocytes for the treatment of another woman, the cost of her treatment being subsidized by the recipient of her oocytes. Egg sharing has been developed for a variety of reasons: to ameliorate donor oocyte shortages, to avoid potential health risks to non-patient donors and, given the limited availability of publicly funded assisted conception treatment in the UK, to make treatment more readily available to individuals on lower incomes, thus expediting treatment by reducing waiting lists. This paper outlines the development and current status of egg sharing in the UK through analysis of responses to a consultation on payment to gamete donors initiated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) and the HFEA’s Guidance for Egg Sharing Arrangements.