Reps probe unethical practices in egg procurement, surrogacy by hospitals

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives on Tuesday resolved to investigate rising cases of unethical and exploitative practices in egg procurement and surrogacy by fertility hospitals and clinics across the country.
The resolution followed a motion by Hon. Babajimi Benson on the need to curb these unethical practices and abuse associated with Assisted Reproductive Health in the country.
Benson said that the utilization of Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) and referrals to fertility centres has witnessed a notable surge in Nigeria, especially since the advent of the new millennium.
He noted that the fertility industry has emerged as a thriving industry estimated to be worth one billion dollars, with private and public hospitals across the country engaged in the practice.
He said the practice is providing an alternative avenue for establishing pregnancies and parenthood.
According to him, the ART procedure entails surgical extraction of eggs from a woman’s ovaries fusion with sperm in laboratory settings and subsequent reintegration into the donor’s body or transfer to a woman or storage in an egg bank.
Benson expressed concern that women undergo surgical egg retrieval, relinquishing control over the eggs obtained between N100,000 to N150,000 per retrieval, with five to six eggs extracted per month.
He said the widespread practice of terming this process as “donation,” while in reality, desperate women of childbearing age are coerced through targeted marketing to sell their eggs with potentially adverse effects on their future reproductive health and overall well-being.
The lawmaker added that the fertility centres have capitalized on the absence of a suitable regulatory framework to exploit providers/donors and potentially engage in the trade of donated eggs.
He said if this trend is not urgently checked, it will lead to an increase in cases of infertility and cancer infections among young donors and surrogates as well as promoting exploitative practices.