Trading Eggs for Infertility Treatments: Should She or Shouldn't She?

Hundreds of British women have given away half their eggs for reduced-priced fertility treatments, according to an article in TimesOnline. In exchange for giving away half their eggs, women pay as little as one-sixth of the cost of an in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycle.

Figures obtained under the Freedom of Information Act show that in 770 fertility cycles, women who traded half their eggs for treatment failed to give birth while the women they gave their eggs to have had their biological children.

In a related article, 15 British women agreed to donate their eggs for human-cloning experiments in exchange for discounted fertility treatments.

The North-East England Stem Cell Institute is offering women in vitro fertilization treatments at a 50 percent discount if they agree to donate half of the eggs produced during the treatment.

The question is raised: Does offering such a monetary discount take advantage of women who are desperate for infertility treatments--but who can't afford them? And, by giving away their eggs, do these women actually reduce their chances of pregnancy, while helping other women get pregnant?

Should she or shouldn't she?

Would you?