Note: This will fulfill my 500 word requirement

In response to "Egg Ethics Spark Stem-Cell Rift"

After reading the November 14th article from Wired.com, I thought cloning researchers such as Scott Kaplan and Gerald Schatten wouldn’t suddenly stop cooperating with The World Stem Cell Hub foundation simply because of some rumors. I sorted through some online news, and found out that Hwang Woo-suk of The World Stem Cell Hub has recently “divulged everything.”

The article basically reports that Hwang made a public apology, and admitted that two female scientists in his lab had donated their eggs to the research. The Health Ministry said that this wasn’t in violation of the ethics guidelines because the eggs were voluntarily donated. The procedure is arduous, and thousands of eggs are required for the cloning projects, but there are few donors. It seems that a South Korean doctor has mentioned that there was compensation to the donors. A chairman of the board of Mizmedi Hospital also admitted he paid the donors, but added that Hwang didn’t know anything of the matter.

The donors were subordinates to Hwang and also a part of the team of scientists working on the project. The issue of having the eggs donated by the scientists is that there may be the chance of it stemming from coercion. Throughout the articles I’ve been able to find, there has been no mention of the donors themselves, though this issue directly involves them. They know what really happened, and whether or not they donated their eggs for the sake of science, obligation to their work or superiors, or money.

Then there’s the problem of ethics again. Some people think that there is a clear ethical line that people involved in the research of embryonic cloning should not contribute their eggs paid or unpaid for fear of obligation as a subordinate to their career or supervisor. There are also those that believe it’s okay if it is freely donated.

What a controversial issue. This will not stop me from expressing my personal opinion on the matter; I have welcomed expectations of heated phone calls aimed at my radio show. My personal opinion is that the ethics issue should not focus on whether the donors were employed under The World Stem Cell Hub, but whether or not they were paid for their eggs, coerced, or threatened in any way. I have to be honest and say that as long as the female scientists donated their eggs without any payment, it should graciously be accepted. As mentioned above (though without proof yet), there is the possibility that the donors were compensated. I approve that the donors should be compensated because they physically risk their bodies and health for the procedure. I do not think a simple “thank you” is enough gratitude. I do not think a large sum of money is appropriate to give to a “volunteer,” but some form of thanks or recognition should be provided. The female scientists should be allowed to make personal choices without the fear of it being misinterpreted as not being their personal choice. The ethics dilemma focuses on their involvement as being an entirely bad thing. The ethical issue is pertinent to keep scientists from corrupting, but is the idea of a female scientist donating or even sacrificing for the sake of her interest in the progress of finding a cure for diseases really not a possibility?