The student and the ovum: The lack of autonomy and informed consent in trading genes for tuition

Abstract

Rising tuition costs have forced university students to become creative in finding ways to fund their education. Some female university students have decided that ova donation may be an acceptable alternative in which to pay for their tuition. This alternative presents itself because of the insufficient number of ova available for assisted reproduction and emerging stem cell technologies. Young female university students are encouraged by Internet sources and respectable electronic and print media to donate their ova in the cause of assisted reproduction for monetary compensation. While university students generally exhibit autonomy, the constraining influence of their financial predicament compromises the elements of informed consent (voluntariness, competence, capacity, understanding, and disclosure) as to their making an autonomous decision in regard to egg donation. Thus, any moral possibility of giving informed consent is negated. Informed consent can only occur through autonomy. A female university student in need of financial resources to pay for her education cannot make an autonomous choice to trade her genes for tuition. Donated ova are not only needed for assisted reproduction, but for stem cell technologies. While the long-term health of women who donate their ova is of concern (a potential risk of cancer after long term use of ovulation induction), of equal concern is the possibility of a growth in the trade of ova targeting third world and Eastern European women where the precedence for autonomy and informed consent is not well established.

Regulation of Digital Healthcare in India: Ethical and Legal Challenges

“…The United Nation’s International; Disability Caucus defines the term “informed consent” as “Informed decisions [that] can be made only with knowledge of the purpose and nature, the consequences, and the risks of the treatment and rehabilitation supplied in plain language and other accessible formats [ 48 , 49 ].” The definition ensures equal decision-making powers for persons with disabilities [ 49 ] and other marginalized individuals. Informed consent for treatment is based on the premise that individuals not only have a right to decide what happens to their bodies but that both medical goals and individual goals must be considered for treatment choices [ 50 ].…”

“…The key elements of informed consent are disclosure of information, patient understanding, voluntariness, and authorization [ 51 ]. Informed consent can only occur through autonomy [ 50 ]. Informed consent implies the provision of comprehensive information to the concerned person whose data are being procured in this case, and in the context of healthcare in particular, informed consent is defined as the right and responsibility of every individual to make informed decisions about their health and care together with their healthcare providers.…”

Ethics and regulation of inter-country medically assisted reproduction: a call for action

“…Recruitment advertisements on university campuses do not mention these risks, and the women might undergo excessive repeat procurement cycles without being informed of the risks involved [47]. Although there has been no systematic medical tracking of the effects of egg cell procurement on otherwise healthy young women, there is no evidence base for the safety of the procedure in the medical literature, and there are controversies regarding long-term risks of breast and ovarian cancer [48].…”