Britons are being asked if people should get cash incentives to donate eggs and sperm, and whether the funeral expenses of organ donors should be paid in a bid to address a severe shortage。

  The medical ethics think-tank, the Nuffield Council on Bioethics has launched a public consultation to look at whether people think it is right that donors should receive payments or other incentives to meet a growing demand. Currently, paying people to donate most organs, beyond offering modest expenses, is illegal in Britain。

  About 8,000 people need an organ transplant in Britain each year and hundreds die waiting for a suitable donor. The organ shortage has forced many to seek treatment overseas. A change in the law in 2005, which removed donors' right to anonymity has led to a sharp fall in the number of donations。

  Britain has one of the lowest rates of organ donation, at just 13 per million of population compared with 35 per million in Spain where a "presumed consent" system operates, which effectively make everyone a potential donor unless they choose to opt out。

  Professor Marilyn Strathern, chairman of the Council's inquiry into the issue, said: "We could try to increase the number of organ donors by providing stronger incentives, such as cash, paying funeral costs or priority for an organ in future, but would this be ethical?"

  The Council said incentives could be non-financial, such as offering letters of thanks, T-shirts, mugs or vouchers, or allowing future donors to jump the queue for transplants should they later need one。

  "We also need to think about the morality of pressing people to donate their bodily material," Strathern said. "Offering payment or other incentives may encourage people to take risks or go against their beliefs in a way they would not have otherwise done."

  In 2008, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he would not rule out bringing in a "presumed consent" plan for organ donation. However the Organ Donation Taskforce said that evidence from across the world indicated that such a plan would not improve donation rates。

  In January, a study by fertility experts found that a drastic lack of sperm donors meant women wanting babies were resorting to importing semen from abroad or using do-it-yourself insemination kits bought on the Internet。

  日前，英国开展了一项有关器官捐献的调查。该调查旨在了解公众对于卵子和精子捐献者是否应获得现金奖励以及是否应为器官捐献者支付葬礼费用等问题的看法，以解决该国器官捐献严重短缺的状况。

  英国医学伦理智囊机构纽菲尔德生命伦理委员会日前发起了一项公众征询活动，调查英国民众如何看待用现金补偿及其它激励方式鼓励人们捐献器官以满足不断增长的需求。目前在英国，在支付必要合理的费用之外，花钱进行器官交易的做法是违法的。

  英国每年约有八千人需要接受器官移植，很多人因等不到合适的捐献者而死去。器官短缺迫使很多人去国外就医。2005年的一项取消捐献者匿名权的法案更是让器官捐献人数大幅减少。

  英国是全世界器官捐献率最低的国家，100万人中仅有13人捐献，而在西班牙，每 100万人有35人捐献。西班牙实行的是一套“假定同意”的器官捐赠制度，有效地保证每个人都是潜在的捐献者，除非你提出不同意捐献。

  纽菲尔德生命伦理委员会器官捐献调查小组主席玛丽莲•斯特拉斯恩教授说：“我们可以通过采用现金奖励、支付葬礼费用或让捐献人获得器官移植优先权等更为强有力的激励手段来鼓励器官捐献，但这样做是否合乎伦理呢？”

  该机构称，除金钱激励方式外，还可采用发感谢信、赠送T恤、水杯或购物券以及让捐献人获得器官移植优先权等非经济刺激方式。

  斯特拉斯恩说：“我们还要考虑鼓励人们捐赠身体器官是否符合道德标准。提供补贴及其它激励方式可能会让人们去冒险行事或违背自己的信仰去做自己本不愿意做的事。”

  英国首相戈登•布朗于2008年表示，不排除政府会采用“假定同意”器官捐献方案的可能。然而器官捐献调查小组称，世界上其他国家的证据表明这样的方案并不能有效提高捐献率。

  今年1月，生育专家开展的一项研究发现，由于极度缺乏精子捐献者，想要孩子的女性不得不去国外找精子，或者从网上购买“自助式”人工授精工具自行解决。