Sale of human eggs 'wrong', says Church convener

A senior figure in the Church of Scotland has condemned the auctioning and selling of human eggs for IVF treatment.

The Rev Ian Galloway, convener of the Kirk’s Church and Society Council, hit out at the recent “raffle” of a fertility treatment cycle in London, in conjunction with a US-based clinic in Virginia, and said the practice now exists in Scotland.

Patients in Scotland are able to undergo initial stages in a Glasgow clinic and then proceed with the rest of the treatment in Spain.

It is currently illegal to sell human eggs in the UK. Donors are only entitled to "reasonable expenses" and loss of earnings up to £250.

Mr Galloway said a market for human eggs had arisen because of long waiting lists for human eggs. In Spain, egg donors receive payment and can remain anonymous.

Writing on his blog, Mr Galloway said infertility was a complex emotional problem and that the "pain and tribulation" faced by couples and individuals affected by it should be weigned against the social ramifications of the sale of human eggs.

“The sale of human eggs favours the commoditisation of human parts – human eggs should not be in a shopping basket on the same level as a grocery item," he said.

“Just as it is wrong to buy and sell human beings it is wrong to buy and sell human eggs."

The Church of Scotland is opposed to the sale of human eggs on the grounds that it exploits the poor who may be tempted to undergo "invasive" and potentially dangerous treatment for a fee.

The convener said there were cases of donors in Eastern Europe and India, who had sold their eggs to the detriment of their own health.

The estimated revenue for the assisted reproductive technology industry in the USA alone was calculated at $2 billion US dollars.

Mr Galloway concluded: “It is very telling that such level of profits are extracted from human misery.”