I feel that using eggs for cloning is going one step too far. I can appreciate the use of egg farming in order for a couple to be able to have a child, but I believe it's wrong to clone a human egg. What happens when they want that egg to develop and grow into a baby, should any person be put under that kind of speculation and pressure? I believe not.
Name and address withheldI was shocked to read that women have experienced severe pain from ovarian hyperstimulation and died from egg donation, so the idea that this is something that is going to be promoted in the UK is horrifying. I very much doubt that women will be given adequate information about the dangers of egg donation. Who writes the consent forms? Will women be told this is dangerous, cloning is highly experimental, uses vast numbers of eggs and is considered unlikely to provide any benefit, and that the research can be done ethically using umbilical cord and adult stem cells without any need for human eggs? Fiona Pinto, London
Having been through IVF treatment myself, then donating my extra eggs to research, I was more than pleased to know there was somewhere for the "spares" to go. I would have been very disappointed to have them go down the sink. But in saying that, I would not sign up to go through that ever again just to have my eggs harvested for research. I don't think there is a sum of money that could sway that decision. Name and address withheld
If I knew everything about it - good and bad - I for one certainly would. Money would not come into it. I have a 7-year-old who is a Type 1 diabetic and if there was anything I could do that would help find a cure, I would. I don't think people who don't have someone close in their family with one of these life-threatening illnesses can really understand. I really hope that in my son's lifetime, they find a cure. Name and address withheld
As there is still a huge shortage of egg donors in the UK to women who sadly have no eggs to permit them to have children, I find it hard to understand those who condemn donors. It may be that the donor's eggs have no suitable recipient, but if she's prepared to donate for either reproductive or scientific purposes, she should be thanked, not criticised. Amanda Freeland, Harpenden
I have more respect for my body than to subject it to the hormone treatment used to farm eggs. Treatment for various diseases is always trotted out as a reason to pursue this type of dubious research and, sadly, there are always vulnerable women who will be persuaded. Research can be admirable, but not at any cost, and by any means. Elizabeth Counihan, Southampton
Why donate eggs for something as dangerous and expensive as cloning. Dolly the sheep was born with serious problems like chronic arthritis and died prematurely. Would you like to help create a human with the same problems? Also, be prepared to have your eggs mixed with hamster sperm to test the strength of the gametes; this is what is done constantly for IVF under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act. Also, women from whom eggs are harvested are pumped with super-ovulatory drugs which can have serious side-effects on health. Cloning doesn't quite work the way it does in the movies: it's dangerous, expensive and incredibly immoral. Chris Dale, Cambridge
The information you have about payment to women who donate eggs is incorrect. Until April 1 2006, women donating eggs receive a flat payment of £15 plus the expenses they incur as a result of their donation. From April 1 2006, women are only allowed to claim the expenses they incur as a result of the donation. This can include loss of earnings up to £55.19 a day - within a maximum of £250 for the total time they have spent on the donation. To claim this, women have to prove they have lost earnings. I hope this clears up the difference between a payment and a limit on what expenses can be claimed. John Paul Maytum, London
There appears to be only two possible objections to the proposed policy of allowing women to donate eggs for scientific research into severe human illnesses. If there is any danger to the donor this obviously raises issues to be considered. The second objection is the one related to ethical issues, either from a purely scientific point of view or from a more religious perspective of tampering with God's creative supremacy. This, in turn, raises two further questions; first, can we trust the scientific community not to experiment with a Dr Frankenstein eagerness; second, what should be the response and attitude of the Christian community? As someone with a strong Christian faith, I believe that God eventually makes available to us the solutions to the problems we face - in this case, the way to cure or alleviate many serious illnesses. In doing so, unless we are able to control and suppress human nature, this enlightenment can be exploited or misused and that is the real dilemma. With the knowledge and the freedom to do something comes the responsibility and accountability to ensure there is no abuse or misuse. Keith Downer, London
Why would one want to donate one's eggs? Immorality, fame or just a sense of belief that one is doing something good, which hopefully will benefit all of mankind. Glenn Renshaw, Newbury
What you are really asking is "am I willing to risk my life for £250?" No way, but it is worrying that with the state this country is in, some may well do this for financial reasons alone. Angela Zsidi-Prior, Ringwood
After having undergone IVF treatment, and donated surplus eggs during such treatment, I doubt a payment of £15 or even £250 would greatly increase the number of eggs donated. Daily morning stimulation injections, the risk of hyperstimulation and risk of future unknown side-effects of the drugs may put off all but the most dedicated donors. However, if a donor is fully informed of the risks and decides to donate, we applaud them. Richard and Chi Li Denman, Richmond
An egg is potentially one half of another human being. Given this, and being a mother-of-three, I personally could never contemplate donating my eggs for research purposes. Bearing in mind the risks associated with egg donation and the procedure a woman has to undergo to do so, it is an insult to suggest a token £15 payment in return. Does the person who came up with this daft proposal realise that this isn't quite as easy as producing a simple urine sample? Louise McKay, Llanelli
Keith Downer writes: "As someone with a strong Christian faith, I believe that God eventually makes available to us the solutions to the problems we face...". Would it be impudent to ask why God created the problems in the first place? And why were so many thousands of generations denied antibiotics for so long? And if antibiotics were (belatedly) God-given, how come the Roman Catholic Church has not made Alexander Fleming a saint? Colin Berry, Antibes, France
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