There is a shortage of eggs

However, critics have called the scheme unethical and exploitative.

The new 'egg giving scheme' has been launched by the London Fertility Centre.

Under the arrangement, women undergoing IVF would give away all of the eggs from their first cycle of treatment.

But they would then be able to keep all the eggs taken from the second cycle of treatment, given a month later.

It is exploiting people who are desperate. Lord Winston

Donors would also receive discounted IVF treatment.

Many clinics already run egg sharing schemes, in which women donate some of the eggs taken from a single cycle of treatment.

Professor Ian Craft, director of the London Fertility Centre, said the new scheme will increase the chance of both donor and recipient becoming pregnant.

Exploitation fear

Each fertility cycle may produce several eggs, but often only one or two of these are likely to be viable.

This means women sharing the eggs from one cycle have less chance of a successful pregnancy than if they have sole access to all the eggs.

However, Lord Robert Winston has led criticism of the scheme.

He said: "I do not think it is desirable. I think it's ethically unsound. It is exploiting people who are desperate.

Lord Winston said some women were left "devastated" when they fail to become pregnant but the recipient succeeds.

"I have seen women in this situation badly damaged psychologically. They have been devastated by the experience."

Advocates of egg sharing schemes argue they are needed as women can wait years for donated eggs.

Professor Craft said there are too few altruistic donors, so other ways have to be found to encourage women to donate their eggs.

He said while donors in egg sharing schemes receive IVF free, they are charged for any other treatments they need.

Under the egg giving scheme, donors would pay a one-off charge of �950 which would cover the cost of the two cycles of treatment, consultations, counselling, scans and medication, seven times less than the average private cost and around half the price of IVF treatment on the NHS.

Women will pay around �6,000 to receive the donated eggs.

'Same end result'

Professor Craft said: "The problem is having enough donors to help women. Some wait up to two years for donated eggs.

"In egg sharing schemes, there can be a conflict of interests for a clinician when the eggs are divided between the donor and recipient.

"Egg giving provides the maximum chance of pregnancy."

He added: "This is really aimed at trying to make it more accessible to patients of all different backgrounds. At the moment, your financial resources limit you."

To take part in egg giving, women must be under 35, healthy, and not suffering from endometriosis or polycystic ovaries.

Both egg giving and egg sharing schemes are permitted by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology, Authority (HFEA), which regulates fertility clinics.

A spokeswoman said there was little difference between egg giving and egg sharing: "The end result is the same. It is just the method which differs."

Donor shortage

Fiona Stirling, national co-ordinator of the National Gamete Donation Trust said: "We know that there's a shortage of egg donors so we would support and recommend any process, as long as it is cleared by the HFEA and medically acceptable.

"In an ideal world nobody would have to do this but there's a shortage of altruistic egg donors."

Clare Brown, of Child, the national infertility support network, said: "This is one way that a couple who cannot afford to pay the full amount can get treatment."

But she added: "At the moment because there is not the right amount of NHS resources and a shortage of donors there is a chance that people will opt for this system where otherwise they would not."