In terms of how much to compensate an egg donor, the ASRM report specifically states that payments to donors “should be fair and not so substantial that they become undue inducements that will lead the donors to discount risks.” This is a point that I feel cannot be stressed enough. Any donor assumes certain risks – medical, emotional, and even financial, and being a donor is a huge responsibility. They spend hours being screened, filling out health history information, going to appointments, and undergoing the retrieval procedure. We want to make sure that the donor is not so enamored by the compensation that she will receive that she doesn’t fully assess the risks and responsibilities that go hand in hand with participating in a donor cycle.
The report goes on to state that while there is no consensus on the exact amount of compensation a donor should receive that “sums of $5,000 or more require justification and sums above $10,000 are not appropriate.” I believe that anytime one sees an advertisement promising more than these recommended amounts, or anytime a donor requests a fee in excess of these amounts, one should proceed with caution. Additionally, there are many clinics and physicians that will not work with a donor requesting a fee higher than the ASRM suggested guidelines. The ASRM report makes it clear that programs (agencies) recruiting donors and anyone assisting a recipient that has recruited their own donor should establish a compensation structure that “minimizes the possibility of undue inducement of donors and the suggestion that payment is for the [eggs] themselves.”
This can lead to the following issue that I am constantly debating with friends and colleagues: if these guidelines exist, why are some donors offered twelve, fifteen, or twenty thousand dollars (or more) for their donations? If you have an “elite” fee or an “elite” program, where fees are higher based on education, talent, appearance, or IQ and test scores, aren’t you in fact paying for “superior” eggs? And doesn’t that completely contradict what the ASRM report has stated? If the ASRM guidelines are all we in this industry have to go by, I think that anyone in the field owes it to the integrity of the field in general, and the the individuals involved specifically, to maintain the guidelines to the best of their ability.
-Kate Lyon, Attorney at Law
Egg / Ova / Oocyte Donation* offers a viable option to women who have been told that they cannot or should not attempt to achieve a pregnancy using their own egg(s). This can be, and generally is, an extremely emotional step for any individual or couple to take. It is also one that can be costly. With the current state of our economy, the expenses related to any infertility treatment are being more closely examined by those that find themselves in need of such treatment, and the compensation provided to donors is just one of these expenses to consider. With more young women applying to become donors, because of the financial incentive that does exist, many of us in the field (and those that are thrust into this world because of their own fertility situation) are constantly wondering “how much is too much?”
