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Latest Surrogacy News
Egg donors earn cash, help
others
Jamie Luchsinger - Staff Reporter
jluchsinger@northernstar.info
Wednesday, September 10, 2003
Editor’s Note: This is the first of a
three-part series on bodily donations.
Some women don’t have the option of having
their own children and need to turn to the kindness – and
eggs – of others.
Caelyn VerCande, 22, mother of one, has
discussed the possibility of donating her eggs with her
husband.
VerCande had two miscarriages before she was
able to conceive her son.
“Having a miscarriage changes your whole look on
life,” she said.
Women usually decide to donate their eggs for
one of two reasons.
First, they may want to help out someone who has
had problems with infertility. VerCande said she was scared
by thoughts of her miscarriage and others not being able to
have children of their own. She said this is the reason she
is in the process of donating.
Secondly, women often donate for financial
reasons, such as sending their child to college, said Nancy
Block., registered nurse and co-owner of The Center for Egg
Options, an Illinois-based company.
An egg donor can receive $3,000 to $5,000, said
Dr. Randy Morris, practice director and medical director for
IVF1 (in vitro fertilization) Clinic, Naperville.
In Illinois, egg donors are paid $5,000 for
their time and effort even if it doesn’t result in a
pregnancy, Block said.
“I wouldn’t even do it for the money, “ VerCande
said. “I’d do it just to give someone the joy of having a
child.”
Many donors are anonymous, but others often are
a sister or friend of the recipient, according to
Integramed.com.
There are 24 infertility clinics in Illinois.
“We do not recruit donors of any kind,” said Dr.
Edward Marut, practice director and medical director of the
Highland Park IVF Center. “If a sperm or egg donor is
required for infertility treatment, we use outside
independent agencies or labs.”
Egg recipients are screened at infertility
clinics, Block said, and are then sent to the Center for Egg
Options.
The age requirements vary from doctor to doctor,
she said. To donate eggs at the Center for Egg Options, the
person must be between the ages of 18 and 32, although some
clinics take donors up to age 42.
A female donor must be healthy with no history
of infertility, Morris said. The donor’s blood is tested for
various diseases, including hepatitis B and HIV (AIDS).
After the donor releases her medical history and
genetics, the doctor will prescribe hormones to prompt her
ovaries to produce many eggs.
Once the donor’s progress has been monitored,
the procedure can begin. Under intravenous sedation, the egg
removal takes less than an hour, according to Integramed.com.
Eggs are immediately fertilized with sperm from
the egg recipient’s partner or donor. The resulting embryos
will grow in a laboratory for three to five days, Block
said. Next, they are placed in the recipient’s uterus to
develop and grow.
Men have an infinite amount of sperm, whereas
women have a limited amount of eggs, according to a Web site
called “So You Wanna Donate an Egg?” (at www.soyouwanna.com).
Women, unlike men, must be placed under
anesthetics to donate. For eggs, the female donor is placed
under IV sedation, Morris said, and a needle is inserted
into the ovaries to remove the eggs.
An outpatient, minor surgical procedure is
performed to retrieve the eggs, Block said. The patient is
placed under IV sedation, and a needle is guided through a
vaginal ultrasound, Block said. Ten to 20 eggs are then
taken out of the donor’s ovaries, Block said.
There is no pain because the patient is asleep,
Block said. The procedure takes 10 to 20 minutes.
The recipient’s insurance usually covers the egg
retrieval, Morris said, but the recipient must pay the donor
for the IV sedation and necessary drugs.
Potential donors are put on fertility drugs for
three-and-a-half weeks prior to the procedure, Block said.
Since medical exams and consultations must be
performed prior to the egg retrieval, it’s very likely that
the donor will miss work for several days, according to
Integramed.com
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