WOMEN undergoing IVF treatment will be able to cut thousands of pounds from the cost by donating some of their eggs for cloning research, after the practice was approved in Britain for the first time.

The scheme will be available at the fertility clinic that created Britain’s first cloned human embryo. It was approved by the fertility regulator yesterday, even though the regulator itself begins a public consultation on the ethics of egg donation for research in September.

The licence from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) means that patients at the Newcastle Fertility Centre at Life will in effect be paid in kind for their eggs. Up to half their treatment costs will be covered by a scientific team investigating stem cells, if they agree to give up 50 per cent of the eggs that they produce for use in experiments.

The researchers, from the North East England Stem Cell Institute, hope to collect eggs from one woman a week, providing a reliable source of the fresh eggs that are needed to create cloned embryos. Research into therapeutic cloning, which aims to develop embryonic stem (ES) cell treatments for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and diabetes, has been hampered by a shortage of suitable eggs.

The HFEA ruling is controversial as it introduces the principle that women can be rewarded for donating eggs to be used purely for research. Several British clinics already operate schemes in which eggs are shared with other couples for use in fertility treatment. It is illegal to pay egg donors directly for any purpose.

The public consultation on egg donation for research is due to begin in September. However, the authority said that it had no option but to consider the application from Newcastle immediately. Peter Braude, professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at King’s College London, said: “It is a bit odd that you start a consultation and approve a licence before it starts. This is inconsistent with the stance of not paying for eggs for research.”

But Angela McNab, the chief executive of the HFEA, said: “The HFEA is preparing its consultation on the issue of donating eggs for use in research, but in the meantime has a legal duty to consider the applications it receives.”

The licence could be revoked if the HFEA changes its policy when the consultation reports next spring, she added.

Alison Murdoch, who is leading the research team, was delighted with the ruling. “All patients involved in egg-sharing need IVF treatment to help them have a baby. We are helping them to have treatment they may not otherwise be able to afford,” she said.

Previously the team was only allowed to use eggs that had been left over after IVF and were then donated, or to ask IVF patients who produced more than twelve eggs to donate two for research.

Professor Murdoch’s group sought permission initially to recruit women not already having IVF on a purely altruistic basis. This was turned down, at least until the conclusion of the policy review. The HFEA decided that it raised fresh ethical issues, as women could expose themselves to the health risks of fertility drugs without direct benefit to themselves.

Professor Murdoch called the ruling a “win-win” situation for patients and science and said that haring eggs for research purposes raised fewer ethical questions than sharing them with other couples. “If you donate to another couple, there is the chance a child will knock on your door in 20 years and say, ‘hi, Mum’. That can be distressing, especially if you do not get pregnant yourself. Donation for research does not raise this problem.”

A single cycle of IVF at the Newcastle clinic would cost £2,500 normally. Participants in the egg-donating scheme can drop out at any time, although they would then be liable for the full cost of their IVF treatment.

Professor Murdoch has yet to apply for funding for the project, which will take at least 12 months to set up.

Last year her team became the first in Britain to create a cloned human embryo, although it has yet to extract any embryonic stem cells. Therapeutic cloning involves injecting the nucleus of a cell into an egg that has had its DNA removed. The resulting stem cells would be genetically identical to those of the patient who provided the cell, so they could be transplanted to treat disease without risk of rejection.

Good Fertility Guide in Body&Soul

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