Comments on: What Ethical Issues Are Raised By Advertisements for Egg Donors?

By: Nairie

Nairie — Sat, 29 May 2010 22:10:04 +0000

Before reading through this blog, I did not realize the amount and extent of ethical issues that are related to advertisements for egg donations. From the ethical issues surrounding the prices of the human eggs to the ability of couples to ask for specific talents or attributes of egg donors, the debate behind human egg donation seems endless. Is it ethical for advertisements to ask for high school and college transcripts as well as SAT scores from women who plan on donating their eggs? And is it fair to offer more compensation to donors who have more impressive academic records and are physically more beautiful than other women who are also donating?
The main issue that I have in regards to advertisements of egg donors is the reasoning behind why people decide to require that the donors have high GPAs and SAT scores. An individual’s intelligence is not based entirely on their genetic makeup; in fact, much of a person’s academic success, as well as overall success, is related to the environment that they were brought up in. Couples should not assume that a child whose biological mother has a strong academic record will have that same record. Instead, couples should be more open in accepting a variety of donors who are willing to donate their egg to a couple that cannot have children on their own.
In addition, I agree with the post that an organization of some sort should patrol these advertisements for egg donors. There should be regulations as to what kind of requests can be placed on egg donor advertisements, as well as the amount of compensation that should be offered for egg donors. And as the article post mentioned, there should also be some sort of advising that takes place with women who donate their eggs. Many women donate eggs for monetary reasons, and do not realize the ethical issues that can result from their decision. Overall, this blog post increased my awareness of the problems and issues that surround human egg donations.

By: QuinnP

QuinnP — Fri, 28 May 2010 01:07:02 +0000

My main reaction to this article regards the issue of compensation for research. Is there a difference between donating eggs for IVF and donating eggs for research? In my opinion, absolutely not. It ultimately comes down to, as mentioned, the “moral status” of eggs. But this status is non-existent. Eggs alone cannot have moral status. They may be more “sacred” or “special” than other cells, but simply put, an egg is nothing more than a cell. Because an egg, while highly valuable, is just a single cell, there is zero difference between donating for IVF and donating for research. It is identical to donating blood or donating bone marrow. Whether or not egg donors should be paid at all is a whole separate issue, but the bottom line will remain; payment or no, egg donation for any reason should be considered the same.

By: NateMay

NateMay — Tue, 04 May 2010 05:53:38 +0000

I find no ethical qualms with providing compensation for egg donation. First of all, if the donor is having to take hormone shots along with other medication daily, they should absolutely be compensated for the inconvenience. Wouldn’t you feel slighted if you went through all that trouble and didn’t get some sort of compensation? Even if you do find compensation unethical and wouldn’t mind donating “out of the goodness of your heart” the fact of the matter is that there are not enough donations even with compensation. That puts the whole compensation and aggressive advertising issue in the realm of “necessary evil” for some (not me) as it is vital to the fertility industry, a very necessary part of our society. Millions of woman experience fertility issues and then there are gay couples who wish to have biological children, there is a undeniable need for egg donation and we should be doing what is reasonable to fulfill that need. America is a free-market society, and advertising is a completely legitimate part of that, something I feel is good for egg donation. We advertise for blood donation, admittedly a far less risky procedure but still analogous, so I feel its appropriate to extend that practice for egg donation. On a different note, I found the comments in the article that were concerned that these young women didn’t understand what they were doing completely unfounded. These are legal adults, they have the right to make their own decisions, and they have enough life experience and should be grounded enough in their beliefs to donate. I wonder if this is an issue in organ donation as a whole, or if it is specific to egg donation.

By: Shannon Johnston

Shannon Johnston — Tue, 04 May 2010 00:35:21 +0000

I do not feel that it is unethical to provide some kind of monetary compensation for egg donors, but I do feel that it is unethical to adjust the price based on the personal attributes of the donor. First, the donor is compromising herself considerably by undergoing this very physically invasive procedure. So, she should be given some kind of reward for her pains and the time taken out of her life. I do not see this is as the selling of children because an egg is not life; it cannot produce a child on its own. If the question were whether or not to provide monetary compensation for an embryonic donation, then yes, it would constitute selling a child and thus be extremely unethical. However, this is not an embryo nor is it a guarantee, it a cell from a woman that may or may not yield success in the future.
Considering this, I believe that the compensation should be just that — compensation for a service — not a price tag on the egg. By adjusting the reward to attract particularly talented women, it is implying that there are different prices that correspond to different people, an incredibly dehumanizing thought. If price tags were placed on the qualities of each person, it would be comparable to the buying and selling of people in the slave trade. It is horrifying to think that when a woman applies to be a donor, she is told how much she is worth. In this way, I would consider one flat rate for all donations to a bank as ethical, but adjusting the rates for personal qualities as disgusting.

By: StephieDav

StephieDav — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:50:44 +0000

I think that being compensated for in vitro fertilization is perfectly acceptable. When people seek out egg donors with specific characteristics, they’re demanding…well, a product essentially. It may be horrible to think of it in that way, but really why sugar coat the truth? I don’t know what kind of standard should be set for the monetary compensation egg donors get when they work through in vitro clinics. Maybe you could pay them as if they were working a job, because it’s not like egg donors just come to the doctor and have the eggs removed, a long process involving medications and several physical and mental/emotional appointments must occur before the eggs can be removed. As for research, well that sort of has a separate purpose than in vitro fertilization clinics. I wouldn’t pay them as much money, because after all it’s called a “donation” for a reason. Let’s be realistic, we are very money driven and egg “donation” is a thriving new product to market, and gain from. Maybe some people would donate eggs simply to make some unfortunate couple happy, but others are interested solely in the cash they stnd to earn.
I think that advertising for egg donation in general is acceptable, whether it be on facebook, or in other public areas. School newspapers, and school campuses on the other hand, are a different story. I don’t think that many college students fully understand the responsibilities they are undertaking by becoming an egg donor. Not only do they have to physically and mentally prep for this, but they have to live with it for the rest of their lives. Maybe in college selling my eggs would seem like a good idea because I’m short on cash, and hey it’s about 2-5,000 dollars per donation, but how would I feel later on in life when I realize that I’m the mother of some child I’ve never met, and I may never have the chance to meet. Targeting students, who are already high stress, and not completely in touch with the real world and the consequences that could occur from donating seems unethical to me.
Allowing technology to run free without any regard for the morality of the effects it can cause, just seems plain stupid. I really don’t think that we should allow market principles dictate what is permissible and impermissible. It seems very stupid to allow this to happen, because the market is only interested in making a profit. If we can make money off of something, we will unless there is something serving as an obstacle. I think that this is a prime increasingly viewing each other as standing reserve.

By: Kendra Postell

Kendra Postell — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 09:18:12 +0000

It is a little disturbing at first to hear that people are choosing egg donors based upon things like height and medical history and ethnicity. This seems somewhat prejudicial. When I thought about this issue further however, I realized that though many do not like to admit it, people pick their mates based on these factors. Some prefer an athletic build, some prefer a good personality, and some want a partner with a college education. When we pick and choose features such as these in our mates, we are essentially picking the traits that will be passed down to our future offspring, so when couples are choosing egg donors why should they not be allowed this same opportunity to pick and choose which eggs will suit them best?

The idea of compensation is where ethical issues begin. People are not paid when they donate bone marrow or a kidney, is donating eggs really any different? One thing to note is that when one donates part of an organ, blood or bone marrow they are saving someone’s life, and while providing someone with the opportunity to have a child is commendable, it is hardly as heroic. In organ donations saving someone’s life is the reward, but in egg donations it seems like monetary compensation is necessary because without it the costs for donors outweigh the benefits. I do not agree with the notion that selling eggs is like selling children. If eggs could be extracted in an easy and risk-free process, I think a lot of women would be willing to donate for free, but the process is both risky and demanding. Being an egg donor is a huge commitment and women should be compensated for these efforts.

I think it is unfortunate however that these companies are taking advantage of college-aged women who are donating only for money. Because the process is so unregulated it seems like these women are not being properly informed of what they are getting themselves into and they are being rushed into making very big decisions. I think donors would be much safer if there was a limit to how much money they could make (maybe $5,000) and how many times they could donate (one or two only). I also think there needs to be a standard process for women to go through prior to donating eggs including counseling so women get a full explanation of all procedures and the risks involved. Women need to be able to pose all of their questions to and make their final decision under the counsel of a trained professional to keep them from making dangerous and ill-informed choices. I also think that there should be legal penalties for fertility centers that do not provide their patients with the resources they need to make healthy decisions. In this way women could still provide infertile couples with the opportunity to have a child or contribute to stem cell research without endangering their physical and mental health.

By: Fran

Fran — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 09:06:56 +0000

I think it would be impossible to get around the fact that compensation rates will vary. The fact that we live in a capitalist nation defines this. Someone who has a doctorate in a field will make significantly more money than someone who doesn’t if they were applying to the same job. People are not the same, and if someone desires something from someone (whether that be a skill set or an oocyte), then people will compensate more for the more desired option. I dont believe it is necessarily exploitation of these women if some are compensated more than others because the woman always has the choice to not donate her eggs.
The same logic could be applied to models. In our society some women are viewed as more beautiful than other women. If a plain looking woman went to a modeling agency and demanded that they hire her as a model because it is not fair to discriminate a modeling job offer based on looks, that agency would laugh at her.
Like I stated earlier, as long as there is never any coercion or force involved, then there is no exploitation and women retain their full autonomy in making the decision to donate eggs, whether the compensation is 1 dollar or 10,000 dollars.

By: Bryn Willson

Bryn Willson — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:20:36 +0000

2) Is targeting students in college newspapers and on Facebook unethical? Should college newspapers and Facebook remove these ads from their classifieds?

I believe this type of advertising is indeed unethical because in these short advertisements on facebook and in college newspapers, they often times do not describe all of the possible consequences of donating ones eggs. Granted that may not be the best marketing strategy in an advertisement to get egg donors, however with young students in need of money (as most are these days) it is more important than ever to explain what exactly they are getting themselves into. Especially since the monetary gain is so great, informed consent is crucial.

There are medical complications such as hyperstimulation of the ovaries that occur more often than these advertisements would probably disclose. Furthermore, attaining eggs from the ovaries is not exactly the least invasive of procedures. Not to mention the moral burden of knowing that some child out there, whom you have never met, is walking around with half of your genetic material. And a student in need of money is not likely going to spend their time looking up the consequences to egg donation.

Therefore if a college newspaper does decide to run these adds, then I believe they must also put a large warning in red that explains that a student must be WELL INFORMED before consenting to donate their eggs.

By: Rodney Nishimoto

Rodney Nishimoto — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 04:37:48 +0000

Is it ethical to pay money for donor eggs, however, we must keep in mind that everyone has a price and as payments to women providing oocytes continues to increase, more women will discount the serious physical and psychological risks of their donation and go ahead with donation. Compensation for donor eggs is ethical only when it is based on the time, inconvenience and risks associated with oocyte retrieval—not on the eggs themselves or the traits and attributes of the donor.

By: Ankita Kohli

Ankita Kohli — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:30:52 +0000

I completely agree with the author of the above comment. We don’t live in an altruistic world where women would just donate their eggs without some compensation. Unless, the woman is a close family member or friend to the couple who needs the eggs. It is one thing to pay women for egg donations but it is even more ethically troubling that people would pay more for certain desirable traits in the donor. It would be like going shopping where you pay the highest price for the best material. I don’t believe that its ethical to pay women for egg donation but I think it should be done because these women are risking a lot by agreeing to donate their eggs. And as the person above has written, the egg donation market would decline. The desire for parents to have children as similar to them as possible is understandable and they may have the right motivation for paying more but it does not justify the unethical aspect of this practice. Every woman who donates her eggs is subjecting herself to the same level of risk as any other woman. Except if she has some health issues, in which case she should not be allowed to donate her eggs. Doctors cannot predict the level to which women will experience the side effects of the procedure or any serious complications. As such, all women should be paid the same amount for their egg donations. Of course, women undergoing this procedure should be extremely well informed and should be checked over by doctors who can approve them for donation. Also, there should be a fixed price for the egg donation procedure and this could be enforced by the government. I do understand that it is difficult to put a price on the value of something like egg donation.