If embryonic stem cells are used to replace injured or diseased cells in patients, as many people envision, large numbers of donated oocytes (egg cells) will be necessary to create cloned embryonic stem cells genetically matched to patients. In the cloning procedure, called somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the nucleus of an oocyte is removed and replaced with the nucleus of an adult somatic (body tissue) cell. The procedure is not very efficient. For each successful cloning event there are usually hundreds of failed attempts. Disgraced South Korean stem cell researcher, Woo-Suk Hwang, who falsely claimed to have been the first to clone a human embryo and extract stem cells from it, reportedly amassed thousands of eggs over a three year period and used hundreds in his research—and he was still unsuccessful. The methods Hwang used to obtain these eggs have put egg donation in the spotlight, especially the issue of compensating women for their eggs. Many people believe that it is unethical to pay women who donate egg cells for stem cell research, while others consider it unethical not to pay them.     
   The process of egg cell donation is time-consuming, uncomfortable and even painful, requires surgery, and carries a multitude of risks, complications, and side effects. Physicians use needle extraction to retrieve anywhere from a few to a couple of dozen oocytes from anesthetized donors during a brief surgical procedure. Before the procedure, donors receive daily hormone injections for a week to ten days, which overstimulates the ovaries to produce more than the usual single oocyte per menstrual cycle. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine estimates that egg donors spend fifty-six hours undergoing interviews, counseling, and medical procedures related to the process. As women's health advocate Judy Norsigian writes, "The drugs used to hyperstimulate the ovaries also have negative effects, most notably a condition called Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS). Serious cases of this syndrome involve the development of cysts and enlargement of the ovaries, along with massive fluid build-up in the body." Some women have even died from OHSS.     
   Those who oppose compensating women for their eggs, writes Emily Galpern, of the Center for Genetics and Society in Oakland, California, maintain that "compensation creates a financial incentive for economically vulnerable women to expose themselves to both known and unknown health risks for money. A market in eggs for research would emerge, valuing women's reproductive tissue over their well-being." But others argue that because of the time, discomfort, and risk involved it is unethical not to pay women for stem cell research egg donation. They also contend that other donors of tissue are routinely paid. Men who donate sperm, women who donate their eggs to help other couples conceive, and many clinical research participants are usually compensated for their donations. Writes Josephine Johnson of the Hastings Center, "Many research subjects in the United States also receive compensation in exchange for enrollment in clinical trials or other investigations. Proponents of this practice argue that such payment, particularly where modest, is not only a necessary incentive but also fair treatment of research subjects." Advocates of egg donation payment believe that without financial incentives there just won't be enough egg donors to supply the multitude of eggs necessary for stem cell research.    
   The ethics of egg donation are being debated at the national and international level as scientists and bioethicists anticipate the future needs of stem cell research. Whether or not women should be compensated for egg donation is one of many ethical issues related to stem cell research. The contributors of the viewpoints in the following chapter explore other ethical and moral questions related to stem cell research.

FURTHER READINGS In Stem Cell Research.
Books
Brian Alexander Rapture: How Biotech Became the New Religion. New York: Basic Books, 2003.Michael Bellomo The Stem Cell Divide: The Facts, the Fiction, and the Fear Driving the Greatest Scientific, Political, and Religious Debate of Our Time. New York: American Management Association, 2006.Laura Black The Stem Cell Debate: The Ethics and Science Behind the Research. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow, 2006.Andrea L. Bonnicksen Crafting a Cloning Policy: From Dolly to Stem Cells. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2002.John Bryant, Linda Baggott la Velle, and John Searle Introduction to Bioethics. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005.Eileen L. Daniel, ed. Taking Sides: Clashing Views in Health and Society. Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill, 2006.Andrew Goliszek In the Name of Science: A History of Secret Programs, Medical Research, and Human Experimentation. New York: St. Martin's, 2003.Suzanne Holland, Karen Lebacqz, and Laurie Zoloth The Human Embryonic Stem Cell Debate: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.Judith A. Johnson and Erin D. Williams CRS Report for Congress: Stem Cell Research. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2005.Ann Kiessling Human Embryonic Stem Cells: An Introduction to the Science and Therapeutic Potential. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett, 2003.Helga Kuhse and Peter Singer, eds. Bioethics: An Anthology. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2006.Robert Lanza et al, eds. Essentials of Stem Cell Biology. Boston: Academic, 2005.Jane Maienschein Whose View of Life? Embryos, Cloning, and Stem Cells. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004.Steven Paul McGiffen Biotechnology: Corporate Power Versus the Public Interest. Ann Arbor, MI: Pluto, 2005.Jeff McMahan The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.Chris Mooney The Republican War on Science. New York: Basic Books, 2005.Jonathan Morris The Ethics of Biotechnology. Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 2006.National Research Council and Institute of Medicine Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2005.Joseph Panno Stem Cell Research: Medical Applications and Ethical Controversy. New York: Facts On File, 2005.Ann B. Parson The Proteus Effect: Stem Cells and Their Promise for Medicine. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry, 2004.President's Council on Bioethics The Administration's Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Funding Policy: Moral and Political Foundations. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003.President's Council on Bioethics Beyond Therapy: Biotechnology and the Pursuit of Happiness. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2003.Bernard E. Rollin Science and Ethics. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.Michael Ruse and Christopher A. Pynes The Stem Cell Controversy: Debating the Issues. Amherst, NY: Prometheus, 2003.Albert Sasson Medical Biotechnology; Achievements, Prospects and Perceptions. New York: United Nations University Press, 2005.Christopher Thomas Scott Stem Cells Now: From the Experiment That Shook the World to the New Politics of Life. New York: Pi, 2006.George Patrick Smith The Christian Religion and Biotechnology: A Search for Principled Decision-Making. Norwell, MA: Springer, 2005.Wesley Smith Consumer's Guide to a Brave New World. San Francisco: Encounter, 2004.Nancy E. Snow, ed. Stem Cell Research: New Frontiers in Science and Ethics. Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 2004.Jennifer Viegas Stem Cell Research. New York: Rosen, 2003.Brent Waters and Ronald Cole-Turner God and the Embryo: Religious Voices on Stem Cells and Cloning. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2003.Wendy Wagner and Rena Steinzor Rescuing Science from Politics: Regulation and the Distortion of Scientific Research. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006.Ian Wilmut and Roger Highfield After Dolly: The Uses and Misuses of Human Cloning. New York: Norton, 2006.