Publication details
Ethical and Legal Issues Related to the Commercialisation of Gamete Donation
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| Citation | |
| Description | The Programmes related to medical collection and use of gametes are already a common part of assisted reproduction performed by reproductive clinics. It is a consequence of technological and medical advance that brings a number of individual and social benefits. On the other hand, these procedures are associated with some ethical and legal issues. One of these is the tendency towards the increasing commercialisation of gamete donation, which should be based on the principles of altruism and solidarity, including the respect for human dignity. Legislation has been adopted at the level of the Council of Europe and the European Union which enshrines the requirement that the donation of gametes (as well as other body parts) cannot be a source of financial gain. However, it does not preclude donors from being compensated for the costs or inconvenience of donation under certain conditions. It is left to the Member States to determine such compensation. The aim of this paper is to show, using the example of Czech legislation, that insufficient or vague rules at national level can lead to the state when the amount of (financial) compensation is determined by the public offer of reproductive clinics, without the possibilities of effective state control. This results in the provision of compensation in the form of rewards, which not only violates the above principles but also increases the risk of exploitation of economically vulnerable people, who are furthermore motivated to conceal information about their health condition, putting the recipient at a potential risk. Therefore, this situation needs to be addressed, but it is complicated by the overall lack of donors of gametes (especially eggs) and the related efforts to adequately motivate them, which is often used as an argument for a more liberal setting of the rules for providing "compensation". |
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