Payment to gamete donors: equality, gender equity, or solidarity?

Abstract

Purpose Regulation of payment to gamete donors varies substantially across countries. The development of an ethically sustainable governance system of payments in gamete donation demands that the preferences of different stakeholders be heard. This study intends to contribute to improving the understanding of payment to gamete donors by analysing the views of donors and recipients about the preferred form of payment and its associations with their sociodemographic characteristics. Methods This cross-sectional study included 70 donors and 172 recipients recruited at the Portuguese Public Bank of Gametes (July 2017-June 2018). Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire. Views about the preferred form of payment were collected through a multiple-choice question and an open-ended item. Associations were quantified through χ2 tests; content analysis was conducted with the open-ended answers. Results Both donors (48.6%) and recipients (40.7%) considered that reimbursement is the preferred form of payment to ensure solidarity-based motivations to donate. This option was followed by compensation for non-financial losses (41.4% of donors; 33.7% of recipients) based on gender equity. Preference for a fixed reward (22.7% of recipients; 8.6% of donors) was less frequent among younger donors and married/living with a partner or employed recipients, being based on the promotion of equality. Conclusion In the context of the search for cross-border reproductive care and gamete circulation across countries, the findings from this study claim for the need to create solutions for payment to gamete donors that take into account gender equity and are simultaneously sensitive to donor's actual expenses and further health complications.

Ethical issues surrounding the use of assisted reproductive technologies in Ghana: An analysis of the experiences of clients and service providers

“…A tight age requirement may deter sperm donors. Given that gamete donor payment regulations vary by country, limiting sperm donor payments to their actual expenses may prevent coercion [ 30 ]. Ghana has few oocyte donors.…”

Male Reproductive Health - study of a sperm donor population

“…Nonetheless, Portuguese law provides that donors de "reimbursed for expenses incurred or losses directly and immediately resulting from their donations up to a tenth of the current social support index" (Despacho n.o 3192/2017 de 11 de Abril -Diário Da República n.o 75/2017, Série II de 2017. There is only one Portuguese study designed to better understand gamete donor payments by analyzing the views of donors and recipients (Samorinha et al, 2020).…”

Female Reproductive Health – study of an egg donor population

“…The age of candidates ranged from 18 to 35 years. Individuals with sexually transmitted diseases or hereditary diseases are not accepted as egg donors, for which anonymity must be guaranteed ( Banco Público de Gâmetas, 2020 ; Samorinha et al ., 2020 ; Soares et al ., 2023 ). Among other reasons, careful donor screening is performed to identify factors that exclude donors from MAP.…”