A controversial lottery which planned to give £25,000 worth of IVF treatment to winners has had its launch postponed.
The lottery, proposed by the charity To Hatch, was set to be launched last month and was due to have named its first winner this month.
However, after the Gambling Commission had granted it a licence the Charity Commission has stepped in to conduct a review of the lottery.
The trustees of To Hatch agreed to delay the opening of the lottery whilst the Charity Commission investigates.
A spokesperson for the Commission said that whilst it was not a formal investigation, their findings may lead to one if that is deemed necessary.
The spokesperson also said that the investigation related to “the charity’s governance and the administration of the planned lottery.”
When plans for the lottery were announced, it was greeted with criticism from those who had ethical concerns about it.
Tickets were to be sold at £20 each and the competition would be open to singles, the elderly and both homosexual and heterosexual couples.
The plans proposed to give £25,000 worth of IVF treatment to those with a winning ticket. If this treatment failed, access to donor eggs, reproductive surgery or a surrogate birth would be offered as ‘back-up’ prizes.
The upper limit for fertility treatment on the NHS is 45 but if a woman over 45 who was still fit won the lottery, doctors could suggest donor eggs.
Single male or female winners could be given access to donor sperm or a surrogate mother and donor embryo.
Critics said that the lottery “trivialised” human reproduction and ran the risk of breaking European Law on the commercialisation of human tissue.
Commenting in the Daily Express, Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said:
“There is a general unease about raffling human life and trivialising it to this extent.
“You are feeding on the desperation of some very vulnerable people.”
The lottery has been defended by To Hatch founder, Camille Strachan, who argued that many NHS trusts had ceased to offer IVF due to budget cutbacks, making it inaccessible to those who cannot afford private treatment.
Andrea Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“This proposed lottery reduces children to commodities, ‘products’ that people can win through treatment which they would otherwise be unable to afford.
“Infertility is a problem for many people but this is not the solution. Money would be far better spent supporting medical professionals research the causes of infertility and educating others.”
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