Donating eggs to private fertility clinic almost ended in death


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A mother of three who volunteered to donate her eggs free of charge to women unable to have children was not only treated unethically, but suffered extreme pain and discomfort as a result, which could have culminated in her death.

Lucy Brown suffered five days of pain and swelling after an operation under general anaesthetic at a private London fertility clinic to remove her eggs. It appears, however, that her ovaries were so grossly over stimulated that they came close to rupturing which could have ultimately proved fatal. Some 23 eggs had apparently been removed during the procedure. Usually only one egg per cycle is released.

Because the clinic was so busy, Mrs Brown was given only an hour to recover in a noisy nurses’ room before being discharged and asked to leave under her own steam. Within twenty four hours she was in agony, and remained in pain for most of the rest of the week. Instead of returning to the clinic as instructed, she decided she would be in safer hands with her own GP who immediately referred her to her local hospital.

It was at this point that she was told that it was unethical to encourage so many eggs to develop and ripen because of the risk to her life. As a result Mrs Brown is seeking compensation from the General Medical Council.

Mrs Brown also wants to warn other potential egg donors who approach such clinics out of the goodness of their hearts to be very wary, saying, ‘Private clinics are treating donors and their eggs like a commodity. They are profiting out of the generosity of donors such as myself, and the desperation of others.’

There 75 private IVF clinics operating in the UK and they are regulated by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.

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