Egg donation compensation has increased (Image: Getty)
Compensation for egg donors is set to rise to almost a grand as the UK faces a shortage.
It is the first time compensation for sperm and egg donors in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has risen since 2011.
Egg donation compensation is going from £750 to £986 while sperm donation compensation is going from £35 to £45.
It is illegal to pay someone to donate sperm or eggs in the UK so the money is to cover expenses such as travel and accommodation.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which sets the amount of compensation, said the change was partly due to inflation being high in recent years, but it warned against donating sperm or eggs for the money.
Sperm donation compensation is also increasing (Image: Getty)
The regulator warned that donating was a “complex decision” and any child born had the right to contact their biological parents after reaching 18 years old.
But there are groups who are concerned about the rise in compensation.
Helen Gibson, founder of Surrogacy Concern which campaigns on issues relating to surrogacy and gamete donation, said the organisation did not support “any payment for gametes”.
“Donations cannot be called altruistic while money is exchanged,” she said. “Young people’s bodies are not resources to be mined for the benefit of older, wealthier couples and individuals.
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“If there is a ‘shortage’ of donors coming forward, perhaps that reflects the fact that most people do not want their genetic children to be raised by others.”
Egg donation is a three-month process involving daily hormone injections, blood tests and scans and egg retrieval under general anaesthetic.
Sperm donation is a six-month process involving weekly clinic visits to ejaculate into a sterilised cup.