The shortage of sperm and egg donors has been creating difficulty for the British couples willing to have babies. Selling eggs is not allowed in Britain; hence, couples with fertility problem have to travel to countries with less stringent regulations.

Lisa Jardine, of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, stressed the need to reconsider the strict rules regarding sperm and egg donation for the sake of childless couples who to go to other countries as "fertility tourists".

She said that the problem is so acute that due consideration should now be given to dropping the ban on payments.

Couples with fertility problems frequently travel to countries like the United States, Spain and Russia, where donors are paid. In such countries, women often donate their eggs for the sake of money to solve their financial problems.

Professor Jardine said: "I'm not saying the decision arrived at before I became chair wasn't the right one at the time. But given the evidence that egg shortage is driving women overseas, I feel a responsibility to look at it again."

The problem of the shortage of sperm and egg donors intensified after the anonymity for donors ended in 2005.