An American infertility clinic is offering free human eggs to one British woman for attending an informational seminar in London.

The promotion, which has been described by some as a raffle, has sparked an ethical debate in Britain about whether women should be paid for their eggs — which is illegal in the European Union and Canada, but not in the United States.

'There's something shocking in the association of a raffle and giving away a human product.'— Dr. Francoise Shenfield

The Genetics and IVF Institute held a free educational seminar for British couples on Wednesday. One participant will win an in-vitro fertilization cycle in Virginia, including donated eggs of their choice. The prize is not based on a paid raffle.

In a statement, the clinic said its egg donors are college-educated women between 19 and 32. In the U.S., women are routinely paid from $10,000 US to $35,000 US or more for their eggs.

In Britain, women cannot be paid for their eggs and can only be compensated for their travel expenses and time off work; such payment cannot exceed $389 per treatment cycle.

Under Canada's Assisted Human Reproduction Technology Act, passed in 2004 to prevent cloning, it's not illegal for women to sell eggs but it is illegal to buy them. Anyone convicted of buying eggs in Canada can face a fine of up to $500,000 or 10 years in jail.

To donate eggs, a woman must undergo a month-long treatment that involves injecting herself with hormones and then undergoing a surgical procedure to retrieve the eggs.

Because the treatment the company is giving away — which may use eggs from a woman who has been paid for her donation — will happen in the U.S., the clinic is not technically breaking any British laws. But experts slammed the event as a publicity stunt.

"There's something shocking in the association of a raffle and giving away a human product," said Dr. Francoise Shenfield, a fertility and medical ethics expert at University College London.

"In Europe, we have the general idea that altruism is a good thing and we don't want to turn human body parts into a commodity."

Shenfield, who has studied how many Europeans go abroad for infertility treatment, said it was impossible to know how many Britons were going to the U.S., since they are not obliged to report it. Europeans commonly seek treatment elsewhere to get around red tape in their own countries, such as the number of eggs that can be retrieved or implanted, how much donors can be paid and who is eligible to be treated.

Winner to be picked randomly

Britain's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates fertility treatment, said the U.S. clinic's raffle was inappropriate. "It trivializes altruistic donation," the agency said, and runs contrary to the regulations that exist "to protect the dignity of donors and recipients."

Trina Leonard, a spokeswoman for the Genetics and IVF Institute in Fairfax, Va., said the U.S. clinic was simply offering in London a seminar commonly held in the U.S.

"They're not raffling off a human egg," she said. Leonard said one person who comes to the London seminar will win a free IVF treatment cycle, including donated eggs. She said the giveaway was promotional to introduce "new options" for people hoping to start a family.

She said the winner would be picked randomly, not according to need because that would be too complicated. The clinic has been giving away donor cycles valued at more than $10,000 US for about a year, she said. Far more egg donors are available in the U.S. than in Britain.

According to the European Union's Tissues and Cells Directive, donors may only be paid for their inconvenience. But the figure varies across the continent. In Spain, for example, women can receive up to about $1,250 for donating eggs.

Allan Pacey, a fertility expert at the University of Sheffield, said the British supply of donated eggs might increase if women received more money for their time.

"To donate an egg, you're really inconvenienced, and 250 pounds barely scratches the surface," he said.

But he said the U.S. clinic's approach risked turning human eggs into a commercialized product. "Having a lottery [to get eggs] is not how we do things in this country," Pacey said.