Sperm and Egg Donation -Prisila S.

For the last part of Get Me Out: A History of Childbirth, I read about sperm and egg (embryo) donation. Although this is not an innovation, it has been perfected over time. It also has many benefits.

Sperm and egg donation have helped same-sex couples have children with their DNA.

Instead of having to adopt, they can find an egg or sperm donor. To be able to donate sperm, the male has to have certain qualities. For example, the California Cryobank has requirements for men such as age, height, education, good health, certain sexual partners, and legal residential status in the United States. Some of these requirements have no effect over the fetus, such as sexual partners or the education, but other requirements do affect the outcome of fetus. The California Cyrobank is where people go to choose their sperm. “From the inside, California Cyrobank resembles a UPS storage facility. The basement is a large room filled with packages wrapped in brown paper for delivery.” (219)

To be an egg donor there are also some requirements. The requirements to be an egg donor are a certain BMI, age, health, no smoking or drug usage, willing to commit time, willing to get medication through injections, and willing to have physical and mental health tests. Most of these requirements are to ensure the health of the baby. “The egg industry plays into our desire to have evrything perfectly plsnned, beginning with egg meeting sperm.” (244)

These donations not only help same-sex couples, but they also help couples who are trying to have kids but are unable to do so because of reproductive disorders. T

hese disorders can be caused by physical damage, hormonal imbalance or certain infections. An infection that can cause infertility in women is pelvic inflammatory disease (PID). PID can by caused by sexually transmitted infections or infections caused by childbirth or an abortion. PID usually affects young females between the ages of 15 and 24. Infertility in men can be caused by sperm abnormalities such as low sperm count, poor sperm movement, or abnormal sperm shape. To have abnormal sperm shape is called sperm morphology. Sperm morphology doesn’t always cause infertility in men, but it is a possibility.

I believe that sperm and egg donation are such a beautiful things. The donors help give individuals and couples the chance to have children if their ownand live out their dream of being parents.