Egg donors face risks

Recent ads placed in campus newspapers ask female students to "give the gift of life to a childless couple" by selling an egg to a fertility clinic. Jayne Carr, a nurse coordinator at University Infertility Associates in Long Beach, said "risk" is mentioned in her organization's ad "in case there are any complications." The term "complications" wasn't expanded upon.

Upon first consultation the risks associated with being an egg donor were also downplayed by egg donation recruiters at the clinics contacted.

Carr mentioned office visits, hormonal injections, and a vaginal ultrasound, but failed to mention in the initial conversation that hormonal injections [used to stimulate the development of multiple eggs] could cause a condition known as ovarian hyper sti mulation syndrome.

This condition is detailed in the Egg Donor's IVF [in vitro fertilization] Permit obtained from the Atlanta Reproductive Health Centre in Atlanta. In the permit, Mark Perloe, a physician with Atlanta Reproductive Health Centre describes ovarian hyper stim ulation as, "the sudden enlargement of the ovary and an accumulation of fluid in the abdomen."

"If the ovary ruptures, blood can accumulate in the abdominal cavity as well," the report continued. "This fluid imbalance can also affect blood clotting and could be life threatening." According to This condition is fairly rare, Perloe wrote, occurring in 1.3 percent of patients.

Other possibilities, according to Perloe, include "mild to moderate uncomplicated ovarian enlargement, sometimes accompanied by abdominal distention and or abdominal pain occurring in about 20 percent of those treated with some infertility drugs."

Most distressing is the paragraph in the permit that states that during the collection of eggs from the donor [with an aspirating needle] there is the "possibility of bleeding, infection, or injury to the bladder or abdominal organs that may require immed iate or later major surgery. Infection may impair fertility or result in a loss of fertility potential."

When contacted a second time, Carr said ,in response to the question of risk involved with the procedure, that a 14-page document detailing risks would have been given to a potential egg donor once they had filled out and returned the initial questionnair e.

The particular document, which Carr promptly provided, is issued by University Infertility Associates and does contain information on ovarian hyper stimulation syndrome. The document did not mention the possible risk of infertility that was mentioned by P erloe in the Atlanta Reproductive Health Centre's permit.

If injury does occur to an egg donor, some fertility clinics refuse to take responsibility for it in any way. A University Infertility Associates donor consent form ,item number eight, states "If this procedure causes me injury, emergency medical care is available, but will not be free of charge. Financial compensation for any injury from this study is not available."

In regard to risks involved with the procedure of egg donation the director of A Women's Center for Fertility Solutions, Louisa Miller, asked, "What risks have you heard about?"

When asked about ovarian hyper stimulation, Miller acknowledged the risk but downplayed it saying that a woman's ovaries produces numerous eggs in one month anyway.

Contrary to this statement by the director is the fact that a woman normally produces only one to two eggs in a month.

According to the University of California at Irvine's Assistant Professor of Reproductive Endocrinology Jane Frederick, a woman's ovary contains about 50 follicles ,of which one to two might mature normally in a month. Fertility hormones stimulate the mat urity of a number of these follicles. A follicle can contain one to zero eggs.

Miller did mentioned "period like symptoms" such as mood swings as a side effect of being injected with fertility hormones.

When contacted a second time and told she was speaking with a reporter instead of an interested egg donor, Miller said that the process was indeed risky and that it could be complicated medically.

Still, the money is good, especially to cash-starved college students. Both Carr and Miller mentioned monetary compensation of $2,500 to an acceptable donor. This amount is set as a guideline by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

The business of gathering human eggs is profitable enough for there to exist a business in egg donor procurement alone. Essentially, one is an egg broker.

Kellie Snell, who used to work at Saddleback Hospital now runs her own business procuring egg donors at Creative Conception in Orange County.

"[Physicians] come to me from San Diego to Los Angeles to get egg donors," Snell said.

Snell charges a fee to the doctors for her service. The fee is not included in an infertile couples' clinic bill, which for a one time try at pregnancy and freezing of the extra embryos runs the range of $14,000 to $16,000 ,Snell said. The infertile coupl e is also responsible for paying the donor.

As demand has grown for good human eggs, the price a donor receives has gone up. "In 1990 it was $1,500. Then it was $2,000. Now it's $2,500, " Snell said.

Snell said she ensures that her donors are screened and are well informed about the risks and rewards of donating an egg. She does this by requiring potential donors to attend a workshop detailing everything involved with the procedure.

"The workshops give enough information for the donors to walk out," Snell said. They consist of information and of speakers, one an egg donor and one a person who has received eggs from a donor.

Carol Duckworth, an egg donation coordinator for the Center for Surrogate Parenting in Los Angeles, said there is indeed a growing demand for egg donors.

"There is a growing demand-not rapidly-but it's growing," Duckworth said.

With the demand up, money to be made and infertile couples willing to pay large sums of money in order to attempt to have a child that is at least half theirs biologically, the problem of exploitation is always present.

The recent UC Irvine scandal in which a doctor implanted eggs from donors in patients without the egg donor's consent raises serious questions about an industry that is currently not Federally regulated.

Once a recipient herself, Miller of ... pointed out that the infertile woman "is very vulnerable physically, financially, and psychologically and can easily be taken advantage of."

A recent Consumer Reports issue dealing with the subject of infertility clinics and procedures recommends that the clinic one chooses be a member of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology and that the laboratory should be certified under the Cli nical Laboratory Improvement Act of 1988.

It is also possible to obtain a Summary Form for ART (Assisted Reproductive Technology) from the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Information relevant to a potential donor is listed on the last page of the summary. Complications are listed h ere.

It should be taken into consideration though that the information is given to the Society on a volunteer basis and not always up to date. The most recent and only summary report from the University Infertility Associates was from 1993.