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Some 20 women were paid for egg cells they donated to a project by stem
cell pioneer Prof. Hwang Woo-suk in 2003. Donors were paid up to W1.5
million (about US$1,500) a head, a Hwang collaborator who runs a
fertility clinic has revealed. Although compensating donors is not
illegal under a 2005 bioethics law, the revelation will add fuel to
ethical concerns over occyte donation for Hwang¡¯s project that led to a
public rift with a U.S. collaborator. MizMedi Hospital head Roh Sung-il told reporters Monday he paid
donors since it was hard for the team to find volunteers. Some of the
women donated their eggs out of selfless motives, but others may have
been motivated by financial difficulties, Roh said. He said the decision to pay the women was his own and Hwang had no prior knowledge of it.
Asked about reports that junior researchers on Hwang¡¯s team
donated ova, Roh said personal information of research subjects or
donors was confidential. Meanwhile, a member of the team said Hwang would announce his
position on the controversy at a press conference on Wednesday at the
earliest. The government is considering a separate inquiry if Hwang¡¯s
explanation does not fully dispel suspicions. A national bioethics
committee will reportedly discuss its approach to the occyte donation
scandal at a meeting early next week. Also on Monday, the broadcaster MBC said in a press release
that some women in their 20s had donated eggs to Hwang¡¯s research team
since they were in debt or wanted to earn money, saying as total of 600
ova were sold. MBC will air a documentary on the issue on Tuesday. (englishnews@chosun.com )
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