Who is helped and who is harmed by using donor eggs?

The practice of using donor eggs for assisted reproduction is growing dramatically, giving older and infertile women new hope of giving birth. (Your Gamete, Myself, by Peggy Orenstein, New York Times magazine, July 15.) While we hear lots of enthusiasm among those who stand to profit personally or financially, the sad truth is that many thousands of young egg donors are being lured by the promise of quick cash without adequate information about the risks they may face of serious physical harm, damage to their future fertility, or even death.

Because egg donation is virtually unregulated, long-term studies about the effects of intense hormonal medications and surgical procedures on young women have not been done. Women and their doctors ought to lobby for regulation and oversight, so the safety of egg donors will not be overlooked in the market’s multi-million-dollar quest for eggs promising certain hair color, eye color, and taste in movies.

Related links:

From the New England Journal of Medicine: The egg trade -- making sense of the market for human oocytes, Debora Spar, March 29, 2007

From the BBC: Safety of egg donation 'unclear' -- June 30, 2005