Egg
donors looking for cash, find process difficult
By
Amber Muranaka
Online
Forty-Niner
Assistant City Editor
During college, when money is scarce and students
seek to make the most money for their time, donating
eggs is one of the many jobs students take on
to make some seemingly effortless cash, yet the
process is not entirely easy.
Egg donors, often called oocyte donors, are usually
college students, graduate students, medical
students or research staff. They are between
the ages of 18 and 30 because at that age, they
are at a low risk for sexually transmitted diseases.
Many donation clinics offer donors approximately
$2,000-$5,000 for a clutch of donated eggs. In
addition to the large monetary benefit, egg donors
can also give infertile couples a chance to have
a child.
According to the National Center for Health Statistics,
over 6 million women in the United States between
the ages of 15 and 44 have fertility problems
and about 9 million women use infertility services.
Interested donors must attend an information
seminar in order to learn about the donation
program and process. If they are still interested,
they must consult with a doctor and meet with
the program’s psychologist where they will
discuss the implications of being an egg donor.
They must also answer a detailed questionnaire
about their social, sexual and family history.
While participating in the program, patients
are counseled about their responsibilities as
a donor.
Aside from a questionnaire, donors must have
screening tests that detect semen analysis for
every specimen and post-thaw analysis, neisseria
gonorrhea and chlamydia trachomatis, and blood
tests for syphilis, hepatitis B, hepatitis C,
sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, blood type
and screening for AIDS. A physical examination
is also required.
“ The whole process can be very time consuming,” said Sheila Smith,
a representative for Huntington Reproductive Center in West Los Angeles. “There
is a huge time commitment.
Patients must visit us numerous times to consult
with physicians and psychologists.”
The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New
Jersey has been one of the most successful programs
in helping couples become parents. According
to their egg donation program, after the donors
are matched up with a recipient, they must take
birth control pills to coordinate their menstrual
cycle with their egg recipient. Lupron, an injectable
medication, is administered approximately two
weeks after the use of birth control pills.
If the blood test and ultrasound are normal,
the patient can begin to take the fertility medication
to stimulate the ovaries to mature the eggs.
Two or three injections should be taken each
day, in addition to blood tests and ultrasounds
every one to three days. The donor will go under
the egg retrieval when the eggs are mature and
ready.
After being given pain medication and sedation,
the mature eggs will be removed by a small needle
that is inserted into the ovaries. Patients are
allowed to leave the same day, but must have
someone to drive them home.
The donors have an option to have their identity
confidential or non-confidential.
Egg donors are limited to 10 donations in order
to make sure they can have their own children.
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