It's about time! - FDA Probing Embryo-Production Service
SAN ANTONIO - Federal officials are investigating a San Antonio embryo broker, which bills itself as the first company to produce ready-made embryos for prospective parents and allow them to choose the egg and sperm donors' characteristics before buying.
A consumer safety officer from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration was at Jennalee Ryan's house Friday morning during an Associated Press interview with Ryan, who runs the brokerage, called the Abraham Center of Life.
Ryan said the officer was there to ask questions following media attention surrounding the center. The consumer safety officer declined comment.
An FDA spokeswoman in Dallas confirmed Friday that the agency is investigating but declined further comment.
Ryan's service involves a New York physician creating embryos out of donated eggs and sperm. These embryos can then be purchased for $5,000 a pair by prospective parents.
And these embryos likely won't grow up to be slouches. The sperm donors must have doctorates; the egg donors must be young, intelligent and attractive. The sperm comes from a sperm bank. Only one or two women so far have contributed their eggs to Ryan's project.
"I choose based on what I feel that people want," she said. "Who wants an ugly, stupid kid? I mean, come on, if you chose yourself."
Ryan insists she's being criticized only because she allows clients to choose the already-created embryos after reviewing the donors' characteristics to create a baby who is not biologically related to either one of the parents.
Clients can review detailed information about the donors, including their ethnicity and educational background. In some cases, pictures of the donors are available.
Ryan said she sells already-made embryos; the clients cannot customize their choices, but choose from what Ryan has put together.
"Anybody off the street can walk into a clinic and do exactly what I'm doing. They can hire and egg donor, they can hire a sperm donor and they can create embryos," Ryan said, adding that she is simply doing it for them - and more cheaply. "The problem is because I took the egg and the sperm and put them together. Now all of a sudden it's Pandora's box."
But Ryan, who runs the business out of her home in an upscale area of San Antonio, says the embryos are not "made to order" based on a client's eye or hair color preference. She said she plans to create embryos of several ethnicities.
"There's been this big hoopla about, like, you have this big list and you check 'blue eyes,' 'brown eyes.' That doesn't happen. They're already created embryos," Ryan said.
Ryan said she started the center last summer but doesn't hope to profit from it - and hasn't so far. She said it costs her $22,000 to create a batch of embryos and said her waiting list includes 300 potential clients.
"People say well, 'Is this ethical to do what you do? Is it moral to do what you do?'" Ryan said. "Is it ethical or moral not to do it when I have the means and ability to do it? Knowing that I can, should I continue listening to women lament that can't have children?"
