The Cape Transforms Human Ova into an Export Product
By Le Figaro's correspondent C.D.
Le Figaro
Thursday 31 March 2005
South Africa: More and more patients are attracted by simplified local
procedures.
"South Africa is a rainbow nation. Women willing to donate their ova come
in all varieties: English, German, American, African, Dutch, Indian, Irish,
Portuguese, Italian, and French. You choose between white, mixed blood, and
black women. Most of our ova donors are university students." The homepage for
this American site, which refers to the activities of a famous private clinic
on the Cape, is rather surprising. Ova donation, much less regulated than in
Europe or the United States, attracts more women patients who want children
every year. Without knowing it, these women feed a real trade in human ova.
They present themselves as the founders of the country's largest
infertility treatment clinic. Doctors Klaus Wiswedel and Paul le Roux,
directors of the Cape Fertility Clinic in Newlands, a bourgeois suburb of the
Cape, accomplish more than 500 in vitro fertilizations per year, of which a
good hundred are accomplished through ova donations. Moreover, by publicizing a
success rate of over 70%, the organization attracts more foreign couples every
year. People rush over from America, but also from Germany, Italy, or Sweden to
try their luck. Things are easier here than in Europe or the United States.
Doctor Paul Le Roux is serene. From his obstetrician-gynecologist office,
he has trouble seeing how there could be a problem. "We're not doing anything
new. The first treatments of this kind in the world started in 1984 and in this
country in 1986," he explains with complete innocence. "The media got a bit
excited when they saw our on-line catalogue of donors. The ethics committee
demanded that we withdraw it. We did that...."
In fact, South African public opinion periodically gets indignant over the
clinic's methods. In this former Apartheid country, there are many people who
find it discriminatory that future mothers may choose the exact source of the
ova they will bear. One may, in fact, research all the details with respect to
the donors: skin color, eye color, age, size, level of education, profession,
hobbies, etc. One may even look at photos of the biological mothers at
different ages and stages of their lives. That's what separates the clinic from
the rest of the world, where ova donation is anonymous, free, and takes place
through very specific hospital administration procedures.
In April 2003, the South African Reproductive Surgery Society thus firmly
condemned the Cape Clinic's activities. Its grievances derived primarily from
the financial transactions between the hospital and the donors. The agency
assured that the young women received US$1,500 to effect the procedure, a
figure they had seen on the American site and which was significantly higher
than the "price" that normally obtains in South Africa. The South African
clinic adjusted. So as to compensate for the long and painful procedure
involved in extracting the ova, the students now receive 2,000 to 3,000 Rand
(about US$500), the equivalent of a month's salary.
It nonetheless remains the case that the business appears to be quite
juicy. The American site assures that the couple will not spend more than
US$10,000 to have a child, posting a budget detail that is, at the very least,
surprising. If the ovum is effectively three or four times less expensive than
in the United States and the medical procedure barely costs more than US$3,000,
the "package" includes transportation costs, hotel, and diverse distractions
such as participation in photo-safaris. "Care for your soul and benefit from
our personalized treatments and our saunas. Shopping and culinary journeys will
make the experience unforgettable," one may read on the site.
At the Cape Fertility Clinic, people refuse to talk about ova commerce.
"Thanks to us, desperate women can escape too restrictive laws in Europe. In
England, they have to wait over two years for these procedures. Here, we
welcome one or two of them every month. Ask them if they find the process
shocking!" concludes Dr. Paul Le Roux. No patient could be prevailed upon to
answer questions. Those who leave pregnant now have many other concerns in
mind.
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