(This is cross-posted at BlogHer.)
What would you do with $5,000? Pay off a nagging credit card debt? Go on vacation? Stow it away in a savings account for later? More than ever before, women are making this kind of money by donating their eggs. But is egg donation an easy way to make $5,000 (or more)? The procedure is not a simple one, and there are many factors to consider.
If the motives for egg donation were purely altruistic, the decision might be an easier one to make. But even with thousands of dollars on the line, there are questions and concerns — and many women who look into it decide not to go through with it. Some of them are turned off when they find out you have to inject yourself with hormones, daily, for a month. (shivers)
I first heard about egg donation about five years ago, but everything I read back then heavily stressed the need for an altruistic motivation. (To me, it all sounded like this: “You shouldn’t consider egg donation unless your motivation is to help someone! We will put you through a psychological examination!”) Since my motive wasn’t quite so altruistic, I figured I’d be exposed as a fraud and end up wasting my time.
But I recently came across an article that said the prime motivator for women who donate their eggs is financial gain. This was a confirmation of what I’d already thought, but it was the first time I’d seen a major news story about it. From MSNBC:
A small survey found that donors used compensation for everything from savings and down-payments on property to school expenses and car payments. Half of them also used some of the money to pay credit card debt and other loans.
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.
Even though the ASRM has a $10,000 limit on donor compensation for “special cases,” there are some women who are paid much more than that. But these high payouts are primarily reserved for women with “highly desirable” characteristics, like the triple-whammy combination of beauty (especially natural blonds with blue eyes); athletics (a slim figure; a family history free of major diseases); and brains (Ivy League educations, high SAT scores). Higher payouts are also given to women with a history of producing eggs that have resulted in successful births.
The Washington Post did a story on the rising need for Asian egg donors:
Egg donation offers a sort of miracle: the ability to choose a donor who has not just a good resume but also physical traits similar to the prospective mother’s. For many minority or immigrant recipients, it is a treasured chance to pass on an ethnic bloodline and physical characteristics, perhaps helping the child fit in seamlessly. A Korean couple, for example, can request a Korean donor, and doctors say they usually do.
But as egg donation has surged over the past two decades, clinics and donor recruiting agencies say the supply of ethnic minority donors, especially Asians, has not kept pace with demand. For reasons probably involving complex cultural attitudes about fertility and basic marketing principles, Asian eggs are hard to find.
The procedure itself is not without risk. From USA Today:
ASRM acknowledges potential risks, including nausea and diarrhea, from a condition known as “ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.” More severe cases can result in shortness of breath and abdominal bloating. At the most serious, the group says, there is a “remote” risk of death. Donating may also create future fertility trouble for donors. And there is the possibility of emotional problems after donors relinquish parental rights to children conceived with their eggs.
The issue of possible future problems with fertility is taken up in more detail on the Surrogacy Issues Blog:
At puberty, girls have a finite supply of eggs — anywhere from 400-500 will be available during their reproductive life span which are slowly depleted during the natural aging process. Egg harvesting removes up to 40 eggs at a time. Some young women — motivated by financial need — undergo the procedure multiple times, which places themselves at risk of infertility later in life.
But there are many women who have undergone this procedure, some of them multiple times, without any problems.
Maggie wrote a report for a college newspaper about her experience. These are excerpts from her piece:
[Application process:] I filled out an application that asked nearly every question known to man. What were my favorite color, film and book? What had I scored on the SAT I took eight years ago? And if I could, please attach several hundred photographs of myself?
[Needles:] Giving myself the shots was quite an adventure since I’m really not that keen on needles, but I managed. Actually, I nearly passed out while giving myself the first shot of Lupron, which halts the production of estrogen.
[Side effects:] Each medication had side effects like hot flashes, nausea and mood swings, and my ovaries were stimulated until they were the size of softballs. I’m not exaggerating when I say that I thought I looked like I was about three months pregnant and could only wear yoga pants and sweat suits.
[Aftermath:] I heard last week that after a miscarriage, my recipient couple is now pregnant with twins. The happiness that fills me in knowing that I helped get them there is beyond description, and I know now that all of the emotional and physical turmoil that I had gone through was worth every moment.
Spin the Sun goes into detail about what she went through, and then explains why she decided to go through with it:
Just to give you an idea, the cycle takes weeks. There are injections of various hormones, usually injected by the donor into either a leg or the belly with a sub-q needle. The injection doesn’t really hurt, but it is hormones. Then there is blood testing and internal sonograms (a condom covered probe inserted…uh, up there), at very specific times, increasing in frequency the closer the surgery gets. Then there is the surgery itself. It is an outpatient procedure involving a very large needle (they would not show it to me…apparently it is long, thick, and frightening, and they don’t want you to freak out and run out of the OR with your ass hanging out), also inserted in the hooha, with the aid of an ultrasound. It requires general anesthesia and at least one day off of work (my first time I was off 2 days). The recovery isn’t too bad…it mostly feels like bad menstrual cramps.
I decided very early that the person who carries, delivers, and raises the child is the mommy. I know that most people couldn’t do this, and I totally understand. I think it is unusual, and special, to be able to, and I think I’m very lucky to have parents who supported me in looking at it in such a way (one or both of them were there for all three surgeries).
Catherine cut out advertisements and gathered information, but ended up throwing the information away before she went through with the application process.
I kept thinking of the ‘what if’ scenarios. What if a child who is genetically mine is raised by a felon? What if my child is abused? I would never know and the thoughts would kill me.
I’m not surprised there’s a paucity of egg donors. Even if clinics had more staff who spoke other languages. Even if the marketing tactics improved. Would there be an increase in the number of donors? I can’t imagine anyone else taking care of my own baby.
I couldn’t do it, and I’m glad I didn’t.
MissChrisC thought about it, but she also has misgivings:
I was talking to a friend recently about donor eggs and she said that in her opinion and apparently her doctor’s opinion, the people who donate eggs don’t really see themselves as actually donating their DNA for reproduction. They just treat the whole egg donation process as casually as one would treat donating blood or sperm. The majority aren’t really alert to the fact that there will be a little Jennifer or Melissa running around who has their eyes, nose and smile. I think unless you do IVF or are emotionally invested in reproductive medicine, you don’t see these embryos as eventual people.
Sarah is against egg donation:
These young women are not just giving up eggs, they are selling their own offspring. Their egg is obviously not an embryo when it is harvested from her body, but the intent, the plan, the motivation is to fertilize her egg and create a child. This child is biologically hers — the egg donor’s. No matter how these clinics and centers twist their message, that truth cannot be escaped. And now these women will have to live with the fact that they’ve sold their children in order to buy a car or pay off some bills — when and if they come to realize this truth.
If you’re interested in more information, The New York State Department of Health has a very good, comprehensive Q&A called Becoming an Egg Donor.
16 Comments
Interesting post. I’ve considered egg donation quite a number of times, but I think having a grandmother who died of a heart attack might preclude me (even though she was heavy smoker, as were all my grandparents).
My other barrier to egg donation is all the hormones. With my schedule these days, I just don’t have time to deal with mood swings and whatnot.
Strangely, the thought of giving away my DNA is fine with me. I’m pretty happy with my genetics, and I wouldn’t mind little mes running around the world. As I see it, egg donation would be increasing my genetic fitness, since I could certainly have more children via egg donation than I’d be willing to personally bear to term myself.
i have no problem with selling my dna or little potential children or whatever you want to call them. (not that anyone would want my eggs anyway, i’m too old.)
but there is no way i’d take hormones or go through a surgery so someone could have a baby. i think it’s wrong to go to such lengths to get pregnant when there are so many children in the world who need homes, and there is no way i’d play a part in it, let alone mess with my own health to assist.
Jen, let me assure you that there is no “surplus” of children in the world who need homes. It can take 2-5 years of being on a waiting list before being placed with a child in either domestic or international adoption. Add to that that many countries do not even allow children to be adopted by non-citizens.
I would encourage any of you to spend some time on the infertility blog circuit before judging the women who are dependent on donor eggs to have children. There are restrictions and judgements placed on us and our decisions, no matter what our medical condition is, that are never made about fertile couples.
I also want to point out that there have been quite a few stories lately about the “evils” of donating eggs, while donating sperm is done without a thought. That strikes me as a very sexist slant on ART — it’s okay if men are infertile, here have some sperm, but for a woman who can’t produce eggs, you’re just SOL?
Huh. I had no idea women got paid to donate eggs. I guess I never really thought about it before.
i think it’s preferable for “fertile couples” to adopt (or refrain from having kids) too. but that’s not what the blog post was about.
i don’t see how it’s judging anyone to say i think a particular practice is wrong and i don’t want to volunteer my body to be a part of it. if someone who is anti-abortion doesn’t want to volunteer at planned parenthood, i don’t think there is anything wrong with that, either.
Wow, this is a really interesting post; but I have to say, the idea of people selling their eggs JUST for the money aspect is a bit frightening. I think it is a wonderful idea for women who are not interested in having their own children; if they legitimately want to offer another couple a chance.. but who am I to judge?
I don’t think I could do it, though. I think I’d rather my body go through all those hormonal things as a result of a natural pregnancy. I’m not in the right time to think of EITHER right now, so we’ll have to wait and see..
I’ve always read about this and been torn on topics like this and surrogacy. As an altruistic act, my intentions are there. The selfish side of me though has to worry about impacting my fertility in the future and also how I would feel emotionally. I wish adoption was less expensive, as more people would consider this an option. If I get older and remain single, I want children. Hopefully by then adoption will be a little more affordable.
An interesting topic, and you did a nice job getting in a lot of viewpoints.
For me, I would do it in theory (maybe I read enough mommyblogs to have a sense of infertility and how tough that is?) but the actual process is so invasive and I’ve never been a big fan of the doctor’s office. The chance that it would mess with my own fertility puts it over the edge, at least for now.
ok, i know this is totally off topic, but now that two people have mentioned it i can’t resist… why would knowing how tough fertility is for some people to deal with change my ethical point of view on prefering adoption to the more expensive and invasive infertility treatments?
incidentally, i HAVE read a lot of infertility blogs, most recently sharah’s, and i do know how devasting infertility is for some couples. i’m not ignorant; it’s not like i had never thought of the fact that some people are really grateful to have fertility treatments when i formed my opinions. however, my ethical beliefs are not based what makes certain people happy. in any event, i’m not callous to the pain, i just happen to think that adoption is the better way to remedy the situation. sometimes people are fully-informed about the facts at issue, have good intentions, and still disagree with you.
The last part of Sharah’s comment relates to one of my first reactions to some of the quotations mentioned in the original post too:
How many men donate sperm solely for the money? I know that personally, I couldn’t bring myself to donate eggs for money, or probably at all, unless it was to help a friend or sister, but I also think it’s seriously sexist for the world to judge women so harshly for donating eggs for money when men do this all the time with sperm, and have been doing this for years. It’s the same thing–just as an embryo created from a woman’s egg would be hers biologically, so would an embryo created with a sperm donor’s sperm be his biologically.
I noticed in the post the quotation “as casually as one would treat donating blood or sperm”; this is not the same as donating blood obviously, but how is it different from donating sperm? I mean, I know the procedure is markedly different–donating eggs is much more difficult than donating sperm–but I can’t agree with the idea that an embryo created using a donated egg is somehow more the donor’s biological offspring than would be an embryo created using donated sperm.
For society to chastise women for donating eggs, for whatever reasons, while treating sperm donation as somehow different or not as controversial is a serious, and obvious, double standard.
Jen, your beliefs are your beliefs and I have no criticism of them. When I responded, I was trying to specifically point out that adopting is not as easy as most people believe, nor is it a fix for infertility. The fact that you think adoption is a better choice for all couples makes me think that you’ve put in a lot more thought on this subject than most of the people we infertiles run into. However, “Why don’t you just adopt?” is a common throw-away answer that almost every infertile couple faces at some point in their treatment cycle, and it fucking hurts to be told that.
Infertility is more common than most people realize – about 15%-25% of couples go through some level of infertility. But hardly anyone talks about it! An article like the one Z linked to is the kind of information that gets out to the general public – something that’s a interpretation of a scientific study (and the data on the dangers of egg donation is incomplete at this point, by the way). You may have studied the science and made your opinion based on facts, but the majority of people have not. Understanding the pain that infertile couples go through is the basis of understanding the complicated decisions that infertile couples have to make on a daily basis. And honestly, we get tired of having to defend ourselves and decisions we’ve thought through very thoroughly against mass ignorance generated by half-assed popular journalism.
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I don’t care whether my child has blue eyes and blond hair, is short, tall, of superior intelligence etc. There is no adoption alternative for some. Especially when you have spent the last ten years in IVF, are now over 40 and have sold everything including your house to have a child.
Then you hear people moralising about the evils of egg donation. I put on a happy face to the world but I know after two years of trying to recruit an altruistic egg donor, there are none.
I have wanted nothing more than a child since I can remember. I would adopt if that were possible. It isn’t. I would work and work and work all over again to pay an egg donor. But it isn’t allowed here. I know that when the depression gets too unbearable I will finish my life. Nobody even then will know why. Some people can be harsh and judgemental.
Very interesting and informative post. I am glad you took time to present both sides of the egg donation issue. For those interested in egg donation, my web site, A Complete Guide to Egg Donation and Infertility has a directory of every fertility clinic and egg donation agency operating in the US. For infertile people and women thinking about donating eggs, it’s a good place to find local services.
To all of you who say that there are thousands of children who need to be adopted and ask the question,”Why don’t you just adopt?”, answer this. If given the choice yourselves, would you rather have a child or adopt? If you have the ability to choose for yourself, why shouldn’t everyone else?
The donor is simply donating genetic material. She is not selling a child. An unfertilized egg is not a child. She can’t possibly think that egg is her own child, can she? Because another woman decided to grow the egg and sperm into a baby, and raise it and take care of it.