Reno Gazette-Journal from Reno, Nevada • Page 23

NATION FEBRUARY 19, 2007 RENO 7C As egg donations increase, many question the motives behind it CHICAGO Human egg donation was a rarity not so long ago. But heightened demand for eggs, and rising compensation for donors, are prompting more young women to consider it. Jennifer Dziura, a 28-year-old New Yorker, is one of them. She received $8,000 for donating her eggs in the fall of 2005 and she said she hopes she'll be chosen again before the private egg broker she's registered with considers her too old. She realizes prospective parents who view her profile might think it a minus that her father is adopted, allowing for little medical history from his side.

She also figures some are looking for a blonde instead of a brunette. "But, hey, I have perfect SAT scores," Dziura, an aspiring comedian and model, said with a slight chuckle. As more older moms look for help getting pregnant, younger women have become increasingly willing to part with their eggs. Some do it to help relatives and friends, or from a sense of altruism, but others openly acknowledge money is a big factor in their decision, prompting critics to worry that they're helping drive an unregulated BY MARTHA IRVINE ASSOCIATES PRESS Obituaries Paid Advertisement Troy E. BUNYARD Troy Eugene Bunyard passed away on February 14, 2007 at his residence after a lengthy illness.

Troy was born March 22, 1936 in England, AR to Louis and Melba Battles Bunyard. Troy entered the Air Force in 1954 and served as a Basic Airman. After the Air Force Troy was a crop duster for many years in Arkansas. Troy was preceded in death by his parents, Louis and Melba and two sisters Fran and Polly. Troy is survived by his wife of ten years, Georgine and daughter Dustine both of Reno, NV, brother, Louis of Stuggart, AR and sister Lu of Hot Springs, AR.

No services are scheduled. Arrangements have been entrusted to Northern Nevada Memorial Burial and Cremation Society. More egg donors The number of times women in federally monitored programs have donated eggs has risen steadily over the years from around 3,800 to more than 10,000 in 2004. Number of egg donations 12 thousand 10,256 0 '96 '98 '00 '02 '04 SOURCE: Centers for Disease AP Control and Prevention market for human tissue. In 1996, women in federally monitored programs donated eggs just more than 3,800 times.

That number has risen steadily, to more than 10,000 in 2004, the most recent year for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled data. A decade ago, Dr. Joel Brasch, a fertility specialist in the Chicago area, had to work hard to recruit five or 10 young women for his own practice's donor pool, but not anymore. The money is seen as compensation for time and trouble. Among other things, donors learn to inject themselves with How TO PUBLISH AN OBITUARY Fax your notice to: (775) 788-6436 Call: (775) 788-6240 Email your notice to: When you submit, please provide us with: Your Name, Address, Phone Number and the name of the funeral home or cremation society.

Omission of any of the above may delay publication. Mail your notice to: Obituary Specialist Reno Gazette-Journal PO Box 22000 Reno, NV 89520 (Notices must by clearly printed or typed) You will find an easy to use obituary form at: www.rgj.com/obits Deadlines for Publication: Tuesday through Saturday publications: 2:00 p.m. the day before, Sunday Monday publications: Friday at 3:00 p.m. Clare N. MAHANNAH It 1S with great sadness we announce the passing of Clare Mahannah on Wednesday, February 2007.

He died peacefully at home surrounded with loving attention from his wife Lynn, son Chris and nurse Jo from Vista Care Hospice. Clare died with dignity and grace, honoring his glorious adventure-filled life. He was born to Vera and Chet Mahannah on Feb. 19, 1932, in Alliance OH. He attended public schools in the Twin Cities and completed his military service in the US Army in 1953.

Clare's college degrees included a BS in Ag Engineering from the University of Minnesota (1957) and a MS in Water and Irrigation Science from the University of California, Davis He was completing a PH.D. in Plant Physiology at UCD (ABD) when the University of NV, Reno (UNR) offered him a position in the College of Agriculture as an Irrigation Specialist (Federal Extension Service) in 1964. He accepted this job and moved to Reno with his young bride Lynn and his baby son Chris. He worked for UNR in this position for a number of years before taking an early retirement to begin his own private consulting firm, Water Research and Development (WRD). His son Chris joined him in the WRD business in 1986 after graduating from UNR with a Civil Engineering degree.

Clare was an important member of the water resources community in Nevada for over 40 years. Through his work at UNR and in his own WRD firm, Clare had an impressive impact on irrigation science and water law in the State of Nevada and also nationally. He played a pivotal role in such landmark cases as the Alpine Humboldt Decrees, Hage v. US, and the Newlands Project litigation, among others. Clare's efforts to protect the agricultural way of life in the Lahontan Valley form a large part of his legacy in Northern Nevada.

He was known for his friendly and compassionate, hands-on-approach to water resource issues and life experiences in general. Clare i is survived by his wife Lynn, son Chris, grandson Zakary, surrogate daughter Terri, mother Vera, sister Virginia and various nieces and nephews. A 'Celebration of his Life' will be announced later this spring. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Clare be remembered by donating to either the American Cancer Society or the Lance Armstrong Foundation. We also wish to thank Vista Care Hospice for their loving care and kindness during Clare's final week of life.

Their remarkable staff eased Clare's transition and comforted his family. "Farewell, Sweet Itosh! You will be greatly missed by your beloved wife Lynn, son Chris and your many good friends. May you rest in heavenly peace forever." Love and Hugs, Curves Scientists use pig bladders, mice to help regrow fingers 8 4 hormones and, eventually, have a needle inserted through their vaginal wall so eggs can be harvested. "Everyone does it for the money," Dziura said. "No one would do that for free, maybe for your sister, but not for a The American Society of Reproductive Medicine, or ASRM, has set a compensation guideline of $5,000, with a limit of $10,000 for special cases, if, for instance, a recipient wants eggs of rare ancestry.

The president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, an affiliate of ASRM, said that if women were just motivated by money, they wouldn't get past the psychological screening to become a donor. And, he said, researchers who've surveyed donors have found another strong motive. "They're very altruistic and very willing to help a couple who's trying to conceive," said Dr. David Grainger, who also is a reproductive endocrinologist at University of Kansas medical school in Wichita. Still, some egg brokers, particularly those in the East and West, are ignoring suggestions for a cap on compensation and paying women more.

"Egg donors wanted" ads are common on the Internet, in college newspapers and on city trains. And with no federal laws limiting donor fees, and fertility doctors conceding the difficulties of policing their own industry, one ethicist says that eggs have quickly become "commoditized." "It does feel a little more like the Wild West than it ought to," said Dr. Jeffrey Kahn, director of the University of Minnesota Center for Bioethics. And he said he only sees the problem growing as states such as California move closer to funding major stem-cell research, requiring more donor eggs. "We worry that we offer people so much money that they are blind to the risk and their motivation is strictly the money," Kahn said.

BY MALCOLM RITTER ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK Researchers are trying to find ways to regrow fingers, and someday, even limbs, with tricks that soundlike magic spells from a Harry Potter novel. There's the guy who sliced off a fingertip but grew it back, after he treated the wound with an extract of pig bladder. And the scientists who grow extra arms on salamanders. And the laboratory mice with the eerie ability to heal themselves. This summer, scientists are planning to see whether the powdered pig extract can help injured soldiers regrow parts of their fingers.

And a large federally funded project is trying to unlock the secrets of how some animals regrow body parts, with hopes of applying the the lessons to humans. The implications for regrowing fingers go beyond the cosmetic. People who are missing all or most of their fingers, as from an explosion or a fire, often can't pick things up, brush their teeth or button a button. If they could grow even a small stub, it could make a huge difference in their lives. And the lessons learned from studying regrowth of fingers and limbs could aid the larger field of regenerative medicine, perhaps someday helping people replace damaged parts of their hearts and spinal cords and heal wounds and burns with new skin instead of scar tissue.

The missing fingertip But that's in the future. For now, consider the situation of Lee Spievack, a hobby-store salesman in Cincinnati, as he regarded his severed right middle finger one evening in August 2005. He had been helping a customer with an engine on a model airplane behind the shop. He knew the motor was risky because it required somebody to turn the prop backwards to make it run the right way. He'd misjudged the distance to the spinning plastic prop.

It This salamander has grown an extra result of an experimental procedure. out how they naturally regrow limbs sliced off his fingertip, leaving just a bit of the nail bed. The missing piece, three-eighths of an inch long, was never found. An emergency room doctor wrapped up the rest of his finger and sent him to a hand surgeon, who recommended a skin graft to cover what was left of his finger. What was gone, it appeared, was gone forever.

Spievack, however, did have a major advantage his brother Alan, a former Harvard surgeon who'd founded a company called ACell that makes an extract of pig bladder for promoting healing and tissue regeneration. For example, it helps horses regrow ligaments, and the federal government has given clearance to market it for use in people. Similar formulations have been used in many people to do things such as treat ulcers and other wounds and help make cartilage. Lee Spievack took his brother's advice to forget about a skin graft and try the pig bladder powder. Soon a shipment of the stuff arrived and Lee Spievack started applying it every two days.

Within four weeks, his finger had regained its original length, he says, and in four months "it looked like my normal finger." Lee Spievack said it's a little hard, as if calloused, and there's a slight scar on the end. The nail PRESIDENTS' DAY EVENT EXTRA SAVINGS Today Only! RED DOT CLEARANCE EVENT off RED DOT merchandise Valid on select items. Entire stocks not included unless specified. Styles will vary by store. Offer applies to Red Dot merchandise only.

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10-9, Sun. 12-6 1-888-Stein Mart DAVID M. OF CALIFORNIA, IRVINE arm out of its natural left arm as the Salamanders are being studied to find that have been chopped off. continues to grow at twice the speed of his other nails. "All my fingers in this cold weather have cracked except that one," he said.

All in all, he said, "I'm quite impressed." Further research None of this proves the powder was responsible. But those outcomes have helped inspire an effort to try the powder this summer at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, on soldiers who have far more disabling finger loss because of burns. Fingers particularly are vulnerable to burns because they are small and their skin is thin, said David Baer, a wound specialist at the base who's working on the federally funded project. The five to 10 patients in the project will be chosen because they have major losses in all their fingers and thumbs, preventing them from performing the pinching motion they need to hold a toothbrush, for example. The soldiers will have the end of a finger stub re-opened surgically, with the powder applied three times a week.

Nobody is talking about regrowing an entire finger. The hope is to grow enough of a finger, maybe even less than an inch, to do pinching. And it is just a hope. Florida gets ready for another frosty night ORANGE HEIGHTS, Fla. (AP) Florida fruit growers readied for another blast of freezing temperatures Sunday after escaping the previous two icy nights with only minor damage to their multibilliondollar crops.

Temperatures in parts of the state could drop below freezing before dawn today, the National Weather Service said. It posted a freeze warning for several inland counties in the northern and central parts of Florida. In addition to the low temperatures, wind gusts of up to 30 mph in some areas could disrupt the watering systems that protect delicate fruit with a glaze of ice. Fruit and vegetable sales are worth millions to Florida's farmers. The $9 billion Florida citrus industry has struggled with two rough hurricane seasons and fruit diseases, but so far has avoided a freeze like the one that devastated California citrus last month.

Farmers around Florida said their oranges and strawberries had weathered the cold so far, but bean and corn growers in south Florida said their losses have been significant. "We lost plenty," said Steve Williams, president of Knight Management Inc. in Belle Glade, Fla. "One field of 233 acres of beans is completely dead." Grower Roy Brown estimated that he lost about half his peach crop in the weekend freezes, but he said his strawberries had held "You've got to roll with the punches," Brown said. Last month, icy temperatures withered as much as threequarters of California's citrus crop and many of its other winter crops, from avocados to fresh-cut flowers..