Faced with two-year waiting lists in the UK, they are selecting their ideal offspring from advertisements on the Internet and travelling to the US for treatment. The business is attracting those who fear that a shortage of egg donors in this country may force them to remain childless.

Sam Abdalla, director of Britain's largest IVF unit, at the Lister Hospital in London, said: ``There is an imbalance between supply and demand. For those getting on in age, a two-year waiting list is a very long time. We have seen a number of couples go directly to the US for treatment because the whole procedure there takes around three months.''

Fertility experts believe that the number of Britons using US facilities will rise dramatically because the Net has made information on donors so accessible. Parents are choosing the genes they want theirchild to inherit.

From detailed donor profiles, which include a photograph of the donor, her education, ethnic background, weight, height, hair colour and athletic achievement -- and much else -- they choose what they believe to be the ideal set of genes.

An Indian couple asked a clinic for an egg from a Caucasian mother; a dark-skinned woman asked specifically for a tall Nordic donor. The sale of eggs is big business in America. While the British system pays a donor only 15 pounds plus expenses, market economics operates in the US and genes can fetch high prices. In Britain, couples seeking donor egg treatment have to abide by strict guidelines when choosing the appropriate donor. Doctors insist that the donor must be close to the would-be parents own genetic backgrounds. As far as possible, they match religion and ethnic make-up. If the couple ask for a donor very different from themselves, most doctors will question whether they will make suitable parents.

In the US, agencies advertise for eggs instudent newspapers at Ivy League universities. Up to $50,000 is offered for preferred characteristics. Although most US egg donor agencies ask for a registration fee before couples can access their data bank, some advertise directly on the Internet.

One, Families 2000, has soft-focus photographs of its donors on the web. The donation procedure itself is complicated and while the process does not deplete the donor's reserve, it can be painful and sometimes leads to hyper-stimulation and, in rare cases, a stroke. Most women donate eggs no more than five times, because of the health risks. James Yeandel, of the UK's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, said: ``The procedure in Britain is a lot more standardised than the unregulated American system. There, people seem to be donating for money ."

Mary Sidebotham, of the UK's National Egg and Embryo Donation Society, said: ``The number of people searching the Internet for egg donors is alarming, but I think the cost will be prohibitive for most Britishcouples.'' The 68 licensed clinics in Britain charge about £3,000 per cycle; US clinics at least three times that. Peter Wardel, honorary secretary of the British Fertility Society, said: ``Abraod, there is no regulatory body to oversee standards of care."

--Observer News Service