How to sell ovaries
Women Find Out How Much Their Eggs Are Worth
- What? - Wait what?
(laughs) Is that even possible?
^- Today we're gonna find out
^how much money our eggs are worth.
^- Not all women are fertile,
^or produce enough eggs to have babies.
^And so I think it's really cool that there's
^this procedure out there that allows for
^one women to give her eggs to somebody else.
^Having a daughter and being pregnant with a son,
at one end of the spectrum I can't imagine putting
a price on an egg that would go on to
create someone that is priceless.
But then people want to be parents and
I wouldn't wanna deny people that opportunity.
^- I'm really curious to see what makes
^someone a qualified egg donor.
I find it really weird to put a number on my eggs because,
I'm putting a value just to my body.
^- At 27 years old, I feel like a lot of
my friends are getting more interested in
getting married and having babies.
I don't feel that pull to motherhood.
I do understand why it matters to others though.
^- I'm Andrew Vorzimer and I'm and attorney that
^specializes in reproductive law.
There really is no sort of cookie cutter approach to
how compensation is established for individual donors.
It runs the gamut and it's based upon
both subjective and objective factors.
Donors that may have an advanced degree,
Ivy League education, a particular skill set,
or proficiency, start at $10,000.
Up until a few years ago,
there were price guidelines in place.
Established by the American Society of
Reproductive Medicine.
I wanna preface my comments by letting you know
I'm very uncomfortable in doing this.
One of the reasons I got out of owning an
egg donor agency was this went from a field where we
were helping people have children, to an industry.
- It's weird 'cause I don't know how to
put a value on my own traits, like, on myself, in that way.
I grew up playing tennis since I was four,
and I don't really play that much anymore but,
maybe like my athleticism would translate.
I went to Cornell, I also am a computer scientist.
^- Shraya, she's an interesting candidate.
^She's got a bachelors from Cornell,
^her ethnicity is Indian, which is highly desired.
^She played competitive tennis,
^she's involved in computer programming,
^she realistically could receive
^$10,000 to $12,000 depending on the agency.
^- [Woman] So your egg's worth $10,000 to $12,000.
^- Ouuuh.
- A significant minority of recipient parents are looking
for donors that have comparable education levels to them.
And there is a desire for Ivy League egg donors.
- I have these traits and I would not expect
my egg's would produce those traits,
I don't know, if it's like a nature versus nurture thing.
- I think my background and kind of just my growing up,
is kinda gonna give me some leeway in this.
I was a college athlete, I have a masters degree,
I've traveled a lot, my parents were in the military.
I come from a healthy background.
^- Destinee has an advanced degree, she's got a masters.
^Given both her education level,
^her athletic background, and the fact that she has
^some expertise in the arts, she likely would receive
^somewhere between $8,000 to $10,000 for her donation,
^would be a highly desired donor.
^- [Woman] Well, your egg's worth $8,000 to $10,000.
- I did not see going above six.
I think there's another thing that concerns me,
and is a little off putting for me to
want to go through with this procedure.
Is like, do I want little mes walking
around that I don't know about?
- Right.
- And take into consideration like you can't just
go in this purely for wanting $15,000 to $20,000.
Do this for the humanity of it.
- I think I would make a good donor because,
I'm currently pregnant,
and having had a baby that should work in my favor.
I went to college.
^- Kate would be otherwise a wonderful donor,
^except for her age, ASRM still has guidelines that
^deal with who can be a suitable egg donor.
^And the guidelines still are 21 to 30.
^So, any woman over the age of 30,
^it's very difficult for them to be approved as a donor.
^- [Woman] Your eggs are worth zero dollars.
- What! - Wait what?
(laughs) Is that even possible?
Why is that, why is that a thing? How!
- I think it's unfortunately discriminatory,
but the medical research indicates after the age of 30,
the chance of chromosomal abnormalities increase.
The other point I should also make, I need to backup,
is that, as a woman gets older,
she tends to produce fewer eggs.
- If I made this decision at 25,
I'd really be obsessed with that decision now.
Like I think I would have been cool with it,
and then now that I have a family,
it'd be too much.
- I think the fact that I went to an Ivy League university,
I think that is going to increase my eggs worth.
My blood is 100% Jewish, I think Jewish families would
potentially want a 100% Jewish egg.
^- Kelly would be an incredible candidate.
^There's some medical issues that may be of a concern.
^But quite frankly could get as much as
^$15,000 to $20,000 for her first time.
^[Woman] Well, your eggs worth $15,000 to $20,000.
- Why?
- Jewish egg donors and Asian egg donors,
are the hardest donors to find.
From a cultural stand point,
many are just uncomfortable donating.
There's a tremendous demand.
- It's nice that women are given the opportunity to
make some money by doing this,
but I don't think it should be the sole reason.
- This is a medical procedure that's
available for people struggling with infertility.
I think the focus should be less about
how much these donors are being compensated,
and more about ensuring that we have healthy children.
The most important thing is having a healthy baby.
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