Sperm banks are always the butt of spinster jokes, and fertility drugs are the reflex answer for many infertile couples. Still, out there are the couples in which the woman cannot use any of her own eggs, and homosexual couples seeking more options. Among all the new reproductive technologies out there, I think we forgot one: egg donation.
There are many couples in existence who have an aching desire to have children of their own, but cannot for medical reasons, such as a lack of ovarian function, genetic defects, or because adoption is beyond financial, or sometimes legal, reach. Within egg donation, the male of the infertile couple has his sperm fertilize the donor woman's egg in a laboratory, and then injected into his partner for implantation.
This method offers couples an opportunity to have their child genetically related to one parent, while also allowing the chance for the woman to experience the very human event of pregnancy and childbirth. There is a social stigma about carrying children who are not one's own. Part of the human experience is the wish to raise young and see them into adulthood, but underneath that wish is the pre-requisite that the child be genetically linked. Potential couples considering accepting donor eggs should be psychologically prepared to carry a fetus to which only one of them is genetically related, and whose genetic mother may or may not be anonymous.
The Genetics & IVF Institute is a widely renowned reproductive technology institute, specializing in many procedures, with offices all over the country.1 They boast the first non-surgical egg retrieval procedure in the U.S. Through their website, they allow patients to search their database of 80 egg donors for the characteristics they want, and essentially add possible ones to their virtual shopping cart. They can search by height, weight, hair color, eye color, blood type, and ethnic background. Other criteria that is weighted equally important for recipients seems to be the egg donor's highest educational degree completed (B.A. to PhD only, with those with PhDs in most demand and to receive the most financial compensation), and their special interests (cooking, hiking, and dog training). Somehow in the minds of egg recipients, if a genetic mother has a PhD and likes to read Shakespeare, their child will too!
Egg Donation, Inc., is a program operated out of California and Maryland that effectively matches couples, women and men, in 37 countries with young women egg donors who have high-demand genetic characteristics.
2 They are proud to offer an "open" egg donor program which means they allow for as much or as little contact between egg donors and recipients as is wished. Egg Donation, Inc., allows recipients to flip through files of egg donors and examine glossy, glamour photos of themselves and their family, particularly of any children they may already have. The program particularly encourages potential donors to submit glamour photos of this type. Items asked of donors include standards such as ethnic origin, dimples, freckles, and pregnancy history. Other items on the application include such indirectly genetic-related questions as her favorite book, her favorite movie, her partner's history of bankruptcy, and "What is the funniest thing that ever happened to you?" Obviously such unrelated information is needed to reassure couples that the donor is a normal human being just like they are, and that the child will probably also be sane.
Of course, the donors should also be selective. They seek to know the quality of parenting the couple will offer the child that may result from egg donation. If one is to trust another couple with rearing one's genetic offspring, she has a high interest in ensuring the child thrives. Therefore there is miscellaneous information the donor can request of the couple in terms of raising the child: what environment, experiences, care they would give.
Reasons for becoming an egg donor include wishing to help those in need, curiosity, but probably most commonly, the money. Yes, if you donate eggs, you could get paid potentially thousands of dollars, depending on if you get selected. However, in order to avoid the social taboo of what might be
buying children, the payments are described as
compensation for your time and effort. It does appear to be quite an arduous process, though. If selected by a couple, the donor and the recipient must complete psychological and legal counseling from a team of professionals. Then, they both take a series of hormones for several weeks to synchronize their cycles. Retrieving the eggs involves a 30-minute, out-patient, non-surgical procedure in which the embryologist pierces a needle through the vaginal wall and into the follicles, under the guidance of an ultrasound probe. Several eggs are then extracted and taken to be frozen or fertilized. The egg donor rests in the hospital for a few hours, goes home the same day, but should expect some light bleeding over the following few days. Sounds lovely.
Don't get me wrong about the requirements--this reproductive technology is extremely valuable to many, and quite fascinating. Potential egg donors might like to learn what they could do, as long as they understand the risks and benefits involved. There are many infertile couples out there desperately wanting a child, and some of us may be able to help create that for them, along with a wad full of cash as well! Today, we are among the few who have ever lived in the history of the world who can witness, and even participate in genetic advances (if you wish to call them that), just because we can.
Any young woman interested in learning more about becoming an egg donor can visit the websites of the organizations listed below in the footnotes, and write to obtain free informational and application materials.
Footnotes:
1 Genetics & IVF Institude.
http://www.donoregg1.com/2 Egg Donation, Inc.
http://www.eggdonor.com/
