Monday 31 October 2011

Should the fertility industry be regulated?

Presenter: Patrick Blanchenay
Date: 21/10/2011
In Europe, egg donors cannot be paid, but only compensated for their donation. In the UK, the maximum compensation has recently been raised from £250 to £750 for female donors of ovum.
In Europe there is also a limit on how many fertilised embryos can be implanted at once in the womb of the mother; no such restriction exists in the US. In some countries, law restricts conditions of anonymity for sperm donors.

It seems that there are wide discrepancies among developed countries in the realm of assisted fertility.

Should the fertility industry be regulated at all? If so, should we regulate pay/compensation, and the question of anonymity? Has the Coase theorem finally met its limit?

Some suggested readings:
- Compensation for ova donors raised to £750 in the UK:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15356148
- The US fertility industry is Wild West:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/09/13/making-laws-about-making-babies/fertility-industry-is-a-wild-west
- "CROWDING OUT IN BLOOD DONATION: WAS TITMUSS RIGHT?" http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1162/JEEA.2008.6.4.845/abstract
Assessing Titmuss (11970) suggestion that the introduction of monetary incentives can *reduce* blood donation.

No comments:

Post a Comment