The Health Promotion Administration (HPA) has published guideline that sets the “maximum” fee for ovum or sperm donations.
The Artificial Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) bans ovum or sperm donors from charging a fee, but a “nutrition subsidy” can be given, although the amount has varied widely.
A template of a consent form for such donations was released by the agency last month, setting out the legal requirements for donors.
Sperm donors must be between 20 and 49 years old, while ovum donors must be between 20 and 39, and potential donors must submit to medical examinations and assessment, according to the consent form.
The maximum “price” for a sperm donation is set at NT$8,000 — although the norm is NT$5,000 — while for an ovum donation it is NT$99,000, according to the new form.
HPA statistics showed that between 2011 and last year, 891 sperm donations were made in Taiwan and 2,737 ovum donations.
“The demand [for donations] is higher than the supply at present, and usually the quality of the egg is better if the donor is younger,” said Tseng Chi-jui (曾啟瑞), director of Taipei Medical University’s Center for Reproductive Medicine and Sciences.
The hospital conducts tests to screen for genetic diseases before accepting egg or sperm donations, and if the results indicate a possible negative effect on the potential baby’s health, then the egg or sperm will not be used, he said.
Shih Ching-yi (施靜儀), a senior specialist at the HPA, said the donation consent form template was created after referring to similar forms used by clinics and hospitals.
The government-approved template has been distributed to all medical facilities that perform in vitro fertilization, Shih said.
Since ovum and sperm donors must undergo medical exams and various medical procedures to determine if they are eligible donors, those who receive the ova or sperm can authorize their medical facility to give a subsidy for nutrition to the donor, or to help pay for the exams, medical procedures, loss of working hours or transportation fees.
The normal subsidy for a sperm donor is NT$5,000, but if the donor has visited the hospital more than three times before making the donation, the maximum can be raised to NT$8,000, Shih said.
NATIONAL SECURITY: Authorities are working to confirm the identities of the military personnel involved and investigating possible illegal conduct and regulatory violations Authorities are probing possible national security implications after Kinmen police and immigration officers on Sunday found a Chinese woman allegedly posing as a tourist while engaging in prostitution involving more than 10 military personnel. The woman, surnamed Chen (陳), has since been deported, authorities said, adding that investigators are still working to confirm the identities of those implicated, as the records only listed code names and aliases. The case stemmed from a report received by the Kinmen District Prosecutors’ Office on Friday last week from the Jinhu Precinct of the Kinmen County Police Bureau. On Sunday, police, along with the National Immigration
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
MULTIPRONGED APPROACH: China has sought to pressure Palau across a number of fronts, but the island nation has staunchly resisted overtures to ditch Taiwan Palau has been firm in backing Taiwan despite Chinese pressure that uses tourism economics, cyberattacks and criminal infiltration as tools to threaten the Pacific ally into renouncing its recognition of Taiwan as a sovereign state. The Presidential Office yesterday announced that Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) would visit Palau from Saturday to Wednesday next week at the invitation of Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr. Whipps in April said in an interview that China had outspokenly asked Palau to “denounce Taiwan.” “And we have said: ‘We have no enemies, but nobody tells us who our friends are,’” he said. Whipps has told reporters multiple times
RSS