You will probably have heard that on Wednesday 18th October the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) announced changes to the donation regulations and Altrui was right at the forefront. As an acknowledged fertility expert, Alison was invited onto BBC Breakfast TV to discuss the impending changes with Sian Williams and Bill Turnbull.
In fact Alison was in popular demand on Wednesday because she was also asked to talk on BBC Radio York, BBC Radio London and BBC Radio Kent and to give her thoughts about the changes. In brief the HFEA announced that they are going to raise cap the compensation for egg donors to £750.00. This might seem a great hike from the current £250.00 for loss of earnings, but actually it isn’t as big a change as it might sound. We manage the expenses for donors at Guy’s and at the moment most egg donors incur about £550.00 in total expenses going through a cycle. This is definitely NOT payment -merely reimbursement for travelling and expenses.
The great news for egg donors is that this compensation will apply to everyone – not just those in work, which is the case at the moment. This is in recognition of the commitment and disruption that is usually involved when going through an egg donation treatment cycle. The changes will not come into effect until April 2012. Please don’t let this put you off and delay things, because it usually takes 4-6 months to work up and into a treatment cycle, by the time we have matched you and you have had all the necessary appointments.
Update: Find out more about financial compensation for egg donors