Ethical Eggs- Roberta & Emmaline

The harms and benefits to egg donation spark an interesting debate among young women all over the world. In a non regulated trade, egg donation can be both beneficial and extremely harmful to women and the market that egg donation occurs in. Often times, young women who are unable to have children themselves turn to this market in look for a trustworthy donator who can help them achieve their dreams of having a family life. Many women who donate their eggs are informed of their choices and make the transaction safely, with both parties aware of the details of the affair. However, women have- and are being exploited and used for egg donation in unsafe and harmful ways. Debating this topic is to discuss how the poor regulation of egg donation has lead to the use of women everywhere.

The amount of eggs a woman is born with is staggering, but this number drops by millions by the time a girl enters puberty. Women donate their eggs believing that they have an endless supply, but this simply is not the case. Ill-informed donors can find themselves infertile after donating too many of their eggs for quick money. According to research done at Stanford University, “Studies show that women who donate for financial reasons suffer more emotional harm from the procedure and are more likely to regret their decision than women with altruistic motivations.” Fertile women looking for a way to make money easily often don’t process the effects donating their eggs may cause to their future, and both physical and emotional damage can occur- especially in lower socioeconomic classes.

In the business of donating and receiving eggs is not business matter that is handled leisurely. Egg donors provide fertile eggs to women who have problems or complications with the eggs that they own. There are certain criterias that current and potential egg donors have to follow to be qualified to donate eggs. The qualifications include that they have to be between 21-29 years of age, have regular monthly periods, no reproductive disorders or abnormalities, physically and emotionally healthy, a BMI under 29, a non-nicotine user, non-smoker, or non-drug user, and not currently on Depo-Provera. In order for the recipient of the eggs to be able to receive them they need to undergo a medical evaluation including a complete history and a physical examination in order to assure that the health of the person receiving will not be jeopardized by pregnancy. Doctors also have to find and correct any abnormalities that they find pertaining to the receiver of the eggs.