From Tuesday’s USA
today:
Sperm,
egg donors increase during recession
By Judy Keen, USA TODAY
CHICAGO — Sperm banks and donor
agencies say the recession is prompting a surge in calls from people who hope
to make money by donating their sperm or eggs.
"We've seen a definite spike"
of about 40% since February, says Kim Springfield, vice president of sales for
Health News, an Irvine, Calif., company that operates a national referral
service for donors.
Similarly, Robin von Halle, president of Alternative
Reproductive Resources in Chicago, which works with egg donors, reports
"Our calls have just about doubled," and David Battaglia at Oregon
Health & Science University Fertility Consultants in Portland describes "easily
a 25-30% increase in calls in the last nine months."
This information will not be surprising to those familiar
with the U.S. gamete (egg or sperm) market. The market has for some time been robust,
international, and growing, thanks to advances in fertility treatments; new
sources of demand that include older, single, and gay and lesbian parents; and
overseas regulatory changes that have prompted gamete shortages and a thriving
export market. CDC data suggest that in 2006 alone more than 7500 children were
born from “donor eggs.” Although
figures on the number of children born through the use of commercially
purchased sperm are more variable, reports suggest that the number may be
nearly as high, and perhaps higher, than the number born through the use of
commercially purchased oocytes.
(See here
for the source of all underlying facts and figures)
The gamete market can also be profitable, which no doubt
explains the surge in donor interest during tough economic times. This is because with respect to both
eggs and sperm, the phrase “donation” is largely a misnomer in the United States,
where nearly all gametes from unrelated donors are procured through payment.
As noted in this
prior post on New York’s decision to allow compensation to egg donors in
connection with stem cell research, egg donor compensation in the United States
varies widely, with prices as low as $1,500 and as high as $150,000 reported. But surveys of fertility clinics and
donor agencies listed with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology (SART)
report average compensation rates per donation cycle of $4217 and $5200,
respectively, although there are reasons to believe that these numbers
understate the true national average.
Sperm donor compensation varies less than does egg donor
compensation and has generated comparatively little controversy or discussion
in the United States. The Web
sites of most sperm banks report compensation levels of between $50 and $100
per usable sample, consistent with the reported national average of $75. Payment levels may increase upon the
completion of stated goals, and bonuses are typically paid for such acts as
successfully referring a friend, and upon completion of the exit blood test six
months after exiting the donor program.
Using these numbers as the best available, though still imperfect,
pricing guide, egg and sperm donors receive a roughly equal average hourly
compensation of between $75 and $93 for
time spent in a medical setting. (See here, pp.
14 & 20 to see how these hourly averages were calculated) However, egg
donors – unlike sperm donors – experience pain, discomfort, and inconvenience
outside of the time spent in a medical setting due to the effects of hormone
therapy, and face health risks that sperm donors do not. In other words, with a number of
caveats regarding the reliability of these payment estimates, egg donors appear
to be underpaid relative to sperm donors, suggesting some successful price
suppression from the previously
discussed attempts to restrict oocyte prices.
Before concluding that either sperm or egg donation sounds
like a great way to supplement your law prof income, you should know that both
egg and sperm donors are rigorously screened prior to acceptance (and that most
of you are probably too old).
The large majority of both sets of applicants (estimates proffered by
egg agencies and sperm banks range from 80-90%) is either rejected or withdraws
from the program early in the process.
One item from the USA Today
article did catch me off guard, though.
Carol Miller-Woods, donor coordinator at North Hudson IVF in Englewood
Cliffs, N.J., says that she “has gotten calls from at least 100
men inquiring about donating their ‘eggs.’” I confess that I don’t know what to make of that one. Although my review of advertisements, recruiting
materials, and selection procedures leads me to surmise that the average sperm purchaser
values height and sperm motility more than high intelligence, hopefully these
male “egg donors” are not being referred to a partner sperm bank.
Related Post: Sunny Samaritans or Entrepreneurs? New York Allows Egg Donor Payments For Stem Cell Research