Why we should use mild stimulation in egg donation

There are two strong ethical reasons to avoid harm to egg donors: a duty to minimise harm and the proportionality rule. The general duty to minimise harm applies to all medical interventions but it is even more relevant for donors because they are submitting to the intervention for the benefit of others. Most forms of body material donation will carry with them some harm. This duty does not make that unacceptable but implies that harm is only acceptable when it is unavoidable, and this duty cannot be bypassed by asking the donor for consent. The informed consent form is not a safe conduct for high risks.

Whenever you mention ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) to a clinician, they will reply that it was indeed a serious problem in the past but that it is under control now. The current stimulation protocols bring the risk of OHSS down to zero. However, one wonders how the statistics can be explained as data from the European IVF-Monitoring Consortium show that severe OHSS has not disappeared. Moreover, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recently calculated that...