WOMEN FLOCK TO THE U.S. TO BUY BABY EGGS

BRITISH women desperate to have babies are flocking to America to buy donor eggs.

In the last two years the number crossing the Atlantic for help has tripled, and US clinics now offer double the UK success rate.

In Britain donors must remain anonymous and waiting lists can be three years or longer. But women can now log on to American websites and browse the net for potential donors, sifting through information such as the donors' name and their family's physical characteristics.

There are no long waiting lists. Shelly Smith, who runs the Egg Donor and Surrogacy Programme in Los Angeles, says: "We charge around pounds 13,000 for our package but that includes payment to lawyers and doctors and a fee to the donor. The donor gets about pounds 2,500."

American doctors are convinced the payment encourages younger women to donate eggs, which could be one of the reasons for their greater success. According to the US agencies up to 60 per cent of women return home to the UK pregnant.

But a spokesman for the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said: "We would never support payment for eggs or the naming of donors."

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