By Mary Ellen McLaughlin
If egg donors weren’t compensated, the whole business of assisted reproductive technology would be a shadow of where it is today. “No one would [donate eggs] for free,” one donor told a writer with MSNBC. “Maybe for your sister, but not for a stranger.”
That’s exactly what I’ve found in 15 years of working with egg donors for ARR. For many of our donors, altruism plays a critical role in their decision. Many have witnessed, first hand, the infertility of a friend or family member. But few would donate without compensation unless it was for someone she knew.
That doesn’t mean we condone the practice by some agencies of promising enormous amounts of money to egg donors.
Compensation to egg donors is intended to reflect the time and inconvenience the process entails. Our donors undergo a lengthy screening process, medical evaluations, hormone injections and an outpatient surgical procedure to retrieve the eggs. Compensation should not be intended or viewed as a bonus for good looks, brains and athletic prowess (and providing such genetics to the highest bidder), but to reflect a process that’s a lot more complicated and, often, uncomfortable, than people realize.
Without compensation, families would be far more limited in their options, as they are in Germany and Italy, where egg donation and surrogacy are illegal. When compensation is fair, both donors and recipients can benefit.
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January 16, 2008 at 11:19 pm
Compensation for Egg Donors - Great article - Surrogacy & Egg Donation Issues
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January 28, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Kami
As a recipient of egg donation – and having gone through several IVF cycles myself, I believe donors should be compensated.
I do take exception the large sums women are paid and that, in some markets at least, paid more for being “proven” or having the right look, etc. If it is really “compensation” and not “payment” than the cost of the inconvenience, pain, etc. does not go up on subsequent cycles or because of an earned degree.
I also wonder if there are some women out there who would be motivated to donate if it wasn’t so tightly tied and marketed with the money in mind.
I found my own donor because of the small donor pool in my area. I asked the women who seemed promising why they weren’t interested in anonymous donation and the answer was usually, “I didn’t feel it was right to get paid for it.” They were willing to let me compensate them for their expenses but no more.
In the end, I found a wonderful donor. A lady my clinic was surprised by how much she was like me. She wouldn’t even let me compensate her for her expenses, but she did allow us to buy her a nice weekend away.
February 3, 2008 at 5:47 am
accident compensation claim
Hi,
I like the way you have been writing . Its really a good way to say your thoughts and yes .. i must say you have done a splendid job ….
Awesome .
March 25, 2008 at 10:18 am
Meagen
Egg donation process consist of two phase. The first phase is ovarian hyper stimulation. In this the donor receives hormonal drugs to stimulate the ovaries to produce multiple mature eggs. The second phase is Egg retrieval. In this mature eggs are removed from the donor through a surgical procedure called transvaginal ultra sound aspiration. The donor has to spend 60 hours through out the course of procedure. Therefore, I think giving a compensation for the egg donor is a perfect option. Since this will promote egg donation by more people in the community.
Smitha RN,
GS3 services India PVT LTD,
http://www.proactivefamilysolutions.com
November 24, 2008 at 4:50 am
Denise
Nothing against compensation, but it should not be called donation. It is not donation, it is selling and buying.
If the compensation is voluntary that is one thing, but come on, a 7K fee is not voluntary when it is part of the treatment.
It should just be called by what it is, selling of body parts.
Again, not against it, I just do not like the term “egg donation” because it is misleading and ultimately, false.
November 25, 2008 at 4:08 pm
arr1
Again, the payment is not for the egg but for the donor’s time and effort, and believe us, it’s not a cakewalk, medically and psychologically. Now, some agencies have advertised upwards from $80,000 for egg “donors” who meet certain desirable characteristics: tall, blond, leggy, perfect SATs, Ivy-league credentials, etc. We’d have to agree that in such instances, these are not egg “donations.”
March 3, 2009 at 5:03 pm
Kitty
Those providing the eggs are “donors”. Now if you want to be technical, a donor is the one providing something. No where in the dictionary does it specify that to be a donor in any sense, has to ‘donate’ something without compensation of some sort.