Headline issue
The Daily Mail has published a story under the headlines “Fertility firm offers Cambridge girls £750 for eggs” (newspaper) and “£750 for your eggs: Fertility firm targets Cambridge Uni girls as critics blast company for exploiting ‘financially vulnerable’ students”(website)
Refutation
The implication from this story is that Altrui has been offering money or using a monetary incentive to entice students into donating their eggs. Altrui totally refutes this allegation and completely stands by its ethical standards and the highest levels of professionalism within a legal framework laid down by the HFEA.
Following discussions with the Daily Mail, on 24th May 2012 they changed the headline to read:
“Fertility firm appeals to Cambridge University girls for egg donations”
They also added the following rider to the article:
“Since publication, we have been asked by Altrui to make clear that they do not entice or induce donors.They do inform donors of their rights under the law to compensation, but again stress this is not a payment. Altrui see their role as offering the opportunity for egg donation in this country under full protection and regulation.”
Important points
We would like to make the following points in response; the following bullet points may be attributed as quotes to Alison Bagshawe, Altrui.
In relation to Cambridge University students:
- Altrui helps individual clients find an altruistic egg donor to enable them to start a family. These leaflets were placed by one of our clients as part of their effort to find an altruistic donor.
- This was a personal appeal from them, which was officially approved by the University.
- The leaflets were distributed to mature students and final year students only, not to undergraduates as a whole.
- In order to preserve both the donor’s and the couple’s confidentiality and to provide relevant background information to those considering egg donation Altrui’s contact details are on the flyer.
- At no time was any money mentioned in any of the material (see the leaflet below).
- The implication from the Daily Mail article is that Altrui is a money-making, exploitative business. In reality, we are a small 2-person business, using our expertise to try and help couples in the face of continuing negativity. The NHS will not fund this service, and no charity would be able to raise the money to help these couples proactively. Hence the only other option was to form a small private company and charge for our services
How Altrui works:
- 1 in 6 couples are struggling to start a family. Last year Altrui helped approximately 50 couples find an egg donor.
- We make no offer of any money to any donor at any time, and emphasise throughout that this is an altruistic donation
- We do inform potential donors of their rights under the law. The HFEA has stated that egg donors are entitled to £750 compensation to cover all their expenses, child care cover, loss of earnings etc. This is not payment but compensation set up by the government.
- Altrui do not entice or induce someone to be a donor. Our role is to raise awareness and offer them the opportunity to become an altruistic egg donor in this country under full UK protection and regulation.
- We offer full information, guidance and support for anyone wishing to be a donor but we do not encourage anyone to continue if they are in any way uncertain or doubtful.
- Altrui works under formal agreements with a selected number of Licensed Treatment Centres in UK and everything is done under the full regulations of the HFEA.
Potential egg donors:
- All potential donors are offered counselling by independent qualified counsellors to discuss any concerns and to assess their suitability.
- All potential donors are absolutely free to withdraw at any stage without any pressure.
- Whilst we do not make judgements about the monetary motives of donors, we do not encourage people to do it for money and constantly emphasise the altruistic nature of donation.
- All potential donors are carefully screened medically at the Licensed Treatment Centres before being allowed to proceed. If there are any doubts about their suitability or safety, the doctors will not permit them to proceed.
Who are the egg donors?
- Altrui agrees that no vulnerable groups should ever be exploited, particularly by offering money. This was not done.
- The law states that egg donors should be between the ages of 18 and 35. Whilst approaches from younger donors may need to be handled sensitively and carefully, they are still old enough to be married, raise their own family, vote and generally make important adult decisions. In this case leaflets were only distributed to mature students and final year students.
- In our experience most egg donors are mums, who have already had children and wish to help others also have this experience.
About Altrui
Altrui was started by Alison who is a renowned fertility expert who spent 20 years supporting couples through assisted conception. She provides practical help to couples in the UK who need a donor. She also works hard to raise awareness of the issues surrounding egg donation in an effort to encourage more women to become altruistic donors.
Prior to Altrui being set up in 2010 there was no mechanism in the UK for couples to find altruistic donors. Their only other alternative was to go abroad where they are not protected under UK legislation and regulation.
Contact
If you would like further information please visit our website at www.altrui.co.uk or to contact Alison, please email her on [email protected]
As a donor I can heartily say they have NEVER used money as a incentive! How dare a newspaper ASSUME such things they are obviously running low on stories!! Altrui are an AMAZING organisation which offers HELP and SUPPORT all the way!!! and making sure YOU want to do this every step of the way and your feelings.
Just another useless story they are trying to get some attention over….how about you report on something like increase of cancer medication to prolong or help lives etc
I find it so utterly infuriating when false information is published. I’m sure it’s hard enough finding “viable” donors as it is, without sensationalist stories coming out to put people off!
It is disappointing that the information in the article is totally false in its claims of paying out to donors as the incentive. At NO point through the process is it mentioned. It is not something that you can enter into lightly either. With enough tests and visits with a consellor to sink a ship before you have even donated it is made crystal clear what you are entering in to and at NO POINT is money mentioned.
I can only hope that this will NOT stop people from donating and seeing the amazing work that Alison and her team are doing to help out couples.
All of this negative rubbish in the news its soo pathetic! i am becoming a donor and i have never ever been offered money from altrui. I am becoming a donor because i want to help a couple have what i have already been blessed with, not because the government offer a few pennies. I was even taken back that travel costs were paid for. I wish the press would concerntrate on other aspects of this, like what an amazing job Alison and her team does at matching couples up with the right donor, how supportive she is and giving all of the information when needed. If it wasn’t for her i would never have been more excited and happy about i am doing. I am giving this couple a gift and their gift back to me will to be happy and complete. End of! Love to Alison and her team x
I am absolutely outraged by this article. I responded to an article appealing for donors and after many conversations with Alison decided that now was not the right time for me to donate. I was never offered and I never asked for money! Altrui was absolutely not run on this basis it was most definitely seen as egg donation.
As the National Gamete Donation Trust we deal with donors and recipients all the time. We know from our extensive experience that most donors are not motivated by money and the £750 - which includes expenses- doesn’t even cover it all the time.
It’s naive to think women come forward without some level of advertising be it posters, leaflet drop, newspaper articles. They need to find out one way or another!
As long as clinics and promoting bodies act within the legal framework and act with integrity, which Altrui does, we need to leave the young adults to make up their own minds.
Clearly some students doubt their own ability to do so and feel ‘exploited.’ Personally, I can only feel that the only ones exploited here at the DM, happy to jump on a non-story without checking the validity of their claims.
On a positive note, I know from experience there’s no such thing as bad publicity so in that sense, thank you for the coverage!
Alison and team, keep up the good work. We all know you’re doing a good job for patients and donors!
Having seen the press from the weekend and the so-called “story” about something I know about and people I know, I was shocked and am increasingly angry for the way Altrui has been portrayed. Typical Daily Mail sensationalising, but never have I been able to read the truth through the lies so clearly because I KNOW about it and have experienced it. I donated two years ago. The nurses at Guys, people who I have met through talking about and helping to promote egg donation and most importantly, Alison, are some of the most lovely, honest and genuine people I have ever met. That sounds twee, but it’s true.
Egg donation was an amazing process in which I was supported, advised, praised and totally looked after. The point is that people aren’t “targeted” to donate, I’m sure I was amongst thousands who read that advert in the Guardian that weekend in March 2010, but it struck a chord with me and I found out more. Egg donating isn’t a “Scheme”, it is a gift. People who donate are not “compensated”, their travel/work expenses are, and Altrui most certainly isn’t an “Egg Broker”. Altrui comes from Alison’s heart, she is a passionate, dedicated, wonderful person who is trying and succeeding with matching people to create life. I am proud of myself for donating and would urge any who feels they can, to donate.
I just wanted to give you our support following that stupid article in the Daily Mail. It made me so angry as it just was not true. I can’t imagine how angry and upset you were when you read it after all the energy and passion you have put in to making Altrui work for couples like us. You are our angel, making it possible for us to be able to dream and help us navigate through a very difficult journey.
Just to say - no you are not taking advantage of “desperate couples”, completely the opposite in fact. You are completely clear about how you can help. It is our decision whether we go ahead with it.
I am so sorry that stupid article was published.
I have only just heard about the recent ridiculous media coverage regarding Altrui. I am appalled that you have had to defend yourself against quite frankly too many journalists who have insufficient facts - and who seem to have already made up their minds so are unwilling to listen to the truth. I thought the presenter on the Woman’s Hour programme in particular was incorrect in harping on about equating students with young impressionable girls. I am a Masters degree student and I’m 40! You did make this point but she chose to ignore it.
If these outstanding women wish to donate, they will, and they seem intelligent enough to do their own research in addition to all the information and support you give them.
To the people who’s lives you have touched and transformed you will always be the most wonderful and indescribably compassionate, selfless and understanding of women.
Im sickened to read about what the Daily Mail have done to the lovely and respectable company you and Alison have.
As a potential egg donor I am excited at the prospect of helping a couple achieve their goal of becoming parents and to have the work you and Alison have done put down in the tabloids is not only discrimanatory against you both, but to every couple struggling to conceive and every individual wanting to help! I hope that anyone who reads about Altrui sees the good you are doing and ignores the pure lies that tabloids create to make money and put a negative spin on everything, because as we all know well enough - good news just doesn’t sell as well as bad news!
I think Altrui is a fantastic way of helping create life and I personally can’t wait to donate and make a difference to the couple I’m matched with.
I am in the process of becoming a donor and it’s the best feeling ever that I can help a complete stranger have a child that they long for. I have been very blessed with my own children and all of the negative press around this at the moment is soo disheartening, especially as it’s all wrong and all that is going on is that strangers are trying to help another stranger in the world of gloom. Altrui gives couples that light at the end of the tunnel!