Not all is equal with egg donation. Despite industry guidelines, more money is offered to women who have favored traits, like high intelligence and blonde hair, than is the ethical standard. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) suggests payments of $5,000 per egg or more which go above and beyond medical expenses require justification. They strongly suggest that women not be paid for favored traits like looks and smarts.
Sara Gwaltney, featured in an ABC News report said that she first considered donating eggs when a friend mentioned the process. Gwaltney had worked as a model, but as a student, her bills were mounting so she decided to try it - not just once, but six times earning $100,000 total. As a result of her experience, she is starting her own egg donation business.
A recent study from the Hastings Center, a leading bioethics journal, researched the ads placed in college newspapers to get a read on what’s going on with egg donation recruiting. Most required a minimum SAT score, and most had appearance or ethnicity requirements, some offered more money for preferred body types. All these stipulations run against the ASRM guidelines.
While regulation would help, it’s not likely any time soon since creating these kinds of laws would necessarily comment on the viability and “life status” of eggs and embryos. Something no legislative body is eager to wade into. Egg donation is restricted, even banned in some other countries. In the US, 10,000 children were born in 2006 through egg donation, almost double the number from 2000 according to the CDC. Obviously, it’s an increasingly popular option and young women at top colleges are being actively recruited by agencies.
But while some people are calling it the creation of “designer babies,” many parents defend their right to select the egg of their choice. “You want he person to have some resemblance to you and your family, so they don’t stick out. They blend in,” said Lynn McDonnell, an egg donor recipient. She went further, “If this person is an Ivy-educated person and they have really great genes, why wouldn’t you want do that for your kids? To have a fleeting chance at being intellectually superior to other people, and really providing themselves with a great life.”
All parents want the best for their kids, for some parents it seems this even extends to genetic material.
Source: ABC News, NY Times
