The HandsOff Newsletter features news, information, and commentary on policies, controversies, and ethics concerning human egg harvesting. Additionally, as a service, the Newsletter may include articles about biotech patenting, animal-human hybrid creation (chimerism), stem cell research and reproductive cloning in so far as they may be relevant to the demand for human eggs.

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HANDSOFF NEWS:

Announcement: Expanding the HandsOff Mission - As we have made information on the dangers of egg harvesting available, we are being contacted by increasing numbers of women seeking information on egg harvesting for fertility treatment, sometimes as a result of their own unfortunate experiences as donors. For many of these women our emphasis on the differences between providing eggs for research and providing eggs for fertility treatment has proven confusing. Some have questioned whether our main concern is women's health or just cloning research.

In our efforts not to undermine individual choice related to reproduction, we have made ourselves minimally relevant to the huge phenomenon of young women selling their eggs for reproductive purposes. We have decided to extend our efforts to include more education directed to all potential egg donors. Egg harvesting, whether for research or reproduction, is risky in the short term, and may have serious negative long term health consequences. We want to inform all women of these risks regardless of the purpose for which they are undergoing superovulation.

We will continue to call for a moratorium on egg harvesting for research. Regarding egg harvesting for reproduction, we are calling for better informed consent protocols, a registry of donors to document side effects, and where appropriate, reduced use of hormones.

We plan to expand our education efforts to inform donors about minimal stimulation IVF. This information also will be helpful to women in their 30s & 40s who are concerned about their own fertility. The fact that lower drug usage reportedly results in higher quality eggs, may help women struggling with infertility less dependent on donors.

The following news piece suggests that HandsOffOurOvararies may be broadening its scope just in the nick of time. TOP

NEWS:

Doctors to grow human eggs in lab Doctors have unveiled details of a new technique that will allow human eggs to be grown in the laboratory from ovarian tissue samples.

The procedure is being pioneered by two British fertility clinics, the Daily Telegraph reports.

It would allow women to delay motherhood by "banking" a piece of ovary tissue in a laboratory until they are ready to start a family.

The technique, which is expected to be offered to women within five years, could also remove many of the risks associated with IVF treatment such as hyper-stimulation of the ovaries which can prove fatal.

One in seven couples experiences difficulty conceiving and more than 30,000 undergo IVF treatment each year.

For full story visit: Ukpress.com TOP

Cut-Price IVF for the Women who Donate their Eggs for Research: Childless women are to be offered cut-price fertility treatment if they donate eggs for cloning research.

The unique deal is being paid for by the Government-funded Medical Research Council which says alternative schemes have all failed.

It will now meet half the cost of a course, around £1,500, in return for half the eggs produced.

Critics accused the council of 'sheer hypocrisy' last night, saying desperate women might feel coerced into taking part for financial reasons.

The council admitted it also had concerns about the ethics of paying people to take part in research and insisted it was a 'one-off' deal.

The scheme is being run by the North East England Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle, which two years ago announced it had created an early-stage cloned human embryo, now recognized as a world first.

Although it survived only a few days, the scientists hope they will eventually get stem cells from embryos matched to an individual.

Ultimately these 'building block' cells could be used to repair damaged tissue and organs.

So far the team has been obtaining eggs by asking women to donate two eggs if at least 12 are produced during their IVF cycle.

Over seven months, however, this generated only 66 fresh eggs.

The cut-price deal was approved by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority in July last year and confirmed after a public consultation in January 2007.

For full story visit: dailymail.com TOP

U.K. Approves Human-Animal Hybrids for Stem Cell Research: Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The U.K. Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority approved the creation of human-animal hybrids for stem cell research. The authority today gave the go-ahead to scientists at Newcastle University and King's College, London, who want to implant human genomes into animal eggs, a spokeswoman for the HFEA said in a telephone interview.

For full story visit: bloomberg.com TOP

Doctor's licence suspended after he admitted removing ova without consent: One of Israel's leading fertility experts and a former chief of gynaecology at one of its largest public hospitals will lose his medical licence for two and a half years after admitting that he removed hundreds of ova from private patients at the Herzliya Medical Centre without permission and without registering the procedures in their medical records.

For full story visit: bmj.com TOP