OTTAWA — Almost two years after the federal government passed a law banning the sale of human eggs, women are still advertising their ova for sale on the Internet -- and Health Canada has no problem with it.

The sale of eggs and other genetic material was banned under the 2004 Assisted Human Reproduction Act, passed in 2004 after a $24-million royal commission and more than a decade of debate.

But a Health Canada official says the act does not ban the advertising of human genetic materials, only their purchase.

"It's a payment to a donor that is illegal,'' said Francine Manseau. "Advertising is not illegal.''

That's a surprise to University of British Columbia geneticist Patricia Baird, who headed the 1993 Royal Commission on New Reproductive Technologies.

"I'm very surprised,'' said Baird. "Clearly, if it's illegal to sell eggs, it should be illegal to advertise selling them. The potential for exploitation of women who need money to sell their eggs is enormous.''

Egg harvesting is an invasive procedure which requires donor women to take powerful hormones, usually by injections that first stimulate then suppress the ovaries. The procedure is painful and involves medical risks.

The procedure is also controversial from the perspective of children born through in vitro fertilization. Many of them are frustrated that they cannot get information about their genetic origins.

Recent reports by le Journal de Montreal and Sun Media have highlighted the ongoing advertising by egg donors on the Internet.

Le Journal de Montreal interviewed six women ranging in age from 18 to 31, who said they were willing to sell their eggs. One was in financial difficulty; another wanted to buy a house. Prices ranged from $500 to $2000.

Health Canada has made virtually no effort enforce the legislation or to educate people about the reasons for it, charged Diane Allen of Toronto-based Infertility Network.

"What does it mean when we as a society allow or turn a blind eye to the recruitment of young women to be egg donors when we don't know the long term consequences of that both in terms of their physical health . . . and also the psychological issues?

"For a young woman in university struggling to finish her year it's a pretty attractive proposition -- $5,000 to give up your eggs. Would you want your daughter to do this? I mean, it's not like eggs from the store.''

She noted that Canada does not permit the purchase and sale of human organs, even though their availability is a matter of life and death for some patients.

Manseau insisted that the Assisted Human Reproduction Act is being taken seriously and will be enforced. She said the department has inspectors and enforcement capacity but the first task is education.

But Allen said she is not aware of any significant effort in that area.

"There's no campaign on the part of Health Canada and I can't see who else could do it to really educate the public or the patients as to the reasons for the legislation, about what it means to commercialize human life.''