BILL ANALYSIS
AB 1317
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 1317 (Block)
As Amended May 6, 2009
Majority vote
HEALTH 11-0
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|Ayes:|Jones, Block, Carter, De |
| |Leon, Hall, Hayashi, |
| |Hernandez, |
| |Bonnie Lowenthal, Nava, |
| |V. Manuel Perez, Salas |
| | |
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SUMMARY : Requires a specified warning in all advertisements
for human egg donations associated with the delivery of
fertility treatment and requires donors to fertility treatment
centers be provided with medically accurate information
regarding potential risks. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires any advertisement seeking oocyte (human egg cell)
donation associated with the delivery of fertility treatment
that includes assisted oocyte production to contain the
following warning:
There are potential risks associated with human egg
donation. Long-term risks associated with human egg
donation have not been determined. Consultation with
your reproductive care specialist prior to entering
into a donor contract is advised.
2)Requires physicians at fertility treatment clinics to provide
donors a medically accurate summary of health and consumer
issues associated with oocyte retrieval and to obtain written
informed consent from each donor.
3)Exempts fertility clinics and donation agencies who formally
agree to abide by American Society for Reproductive Medicine
guidelines from the providing the specified warning.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires investigators to provide subjects making egg
AB 1317
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donations for research purposes a standardized, medically
accurate, written summary of health and consumer issues
associated with assisted reproductive production by the
investigator.
2)Requires the written summary to specify potential risks
associated with the surgical procedure and the use of drugs,
medications and hormones prescribed for ovarian stimulation
and requires written and oral informed consent of all donors
prior to the procedures.
FISCAL EFFECT : None
COMMENTS : The author states that the high demand for human
oocytes has created a market often characterized by aggressive
outreach with substantial financial incentives to potential
oocyte donors. The author maintains that financial incentives
may cause young women to put themselves unknowingly at risk of
future injury by donating their eggs without full knowledge of
the potential or long term consequences of their actions. The
author further points out that the hormones administered to
stimulate donor egg production have in the past had serious
health consequences and that there is wide professional
recognition that the long term health consequences of oocyte
donation have not been determined.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, (ACOG)
finds that the potential of stem cell treatments and the recent
advances in fertility treatments have very substantially
increased demand for human egg cells, scientifically known as
"oocytes" (pronounced "oh-sites"). In 2004, in the United
States, almost 50,000 babies were born - representing almost 1%
of all newborns - as the result of 128,000 fertility treatments
by 411 clinics. Regulation of the donation process varies based
on what type of entity seeks the donation. In California,
oocyte donations for research purposes require informed consent
from the donor and require donors be provided medically accurate
written and oral information on the potential risks of the
procedure. Most physicians who provide fertility treatments
follow recommended, voluntary guidelines on compensation of
donors and other practices promulgated by the American Society
for Reproductive Medicine and are required to secure informed
consent from donors. However, according to ACOG, a number of
private egg donor agencies operate in this state without formal
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regulation or oversight, and these agencies may offer
substantial financial incentives to donors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Institute of
Medicine (IOM) undertook a comprehensive review of the potential
acute and chronic risks associated with oocyte donation which
found the most prominent negative side effect is ovarian
hyperstimulation syndrome which causes nausea and vomiting,
breathing difficulties, kidney and liver problems. However, the
IOM's research indicated only about 0.1 to 0.2% (roughly 1.4
cases per 100,000 women) experienced any of these symptoms. The
IOM also evaluated the concern that the fertility drugs would
increase the risks of hormone dependent cancers - in particular
breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers - but did not find a
positive association with cancer prevalence. The IOM reported
low risks associated with the surgical procedures of oocyte
donation and did not find data suggesting that donation surgery
posed a risk to future fertility. The IOM did express concern
that very little is known about the long-term health outcomes of
women who undergo these procedures and recommended additional
research.
Analysis Prepared by : John D. Miller / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097
FN: 0000565