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More Myths about the Fertility Industry

Posted On December 19th, 2009

Self proclaimed “fertility planner” Angie Best-Boss, founder of My Fertility Plan, is quoted in the Washington Times (“Having a baby in the fertility maze: new specialty guides for parents“), regarding the value of her services:

“This is an industry that is not regulated at all. What you can’t get on Google is whether an agency is going to push you toward using an egg donor so that clinic can boost its stats.”

The misconception that the fertility industry is unregulated is so persistent, even so-called experts perpetuate it (out of ignorance and laziness). Fertility medicine is highly regulated by the FDA, and there are some firm ground rules set by the ASRM as well.*

On the second part of her statement: I do not know why an agency would have any interest in increasing a clinic’s statistics; I guess if the agency were affiliated with the clinic, this statement may make some kind of sense. But statistics are highly accessible to anyone, and you don’t need to hire a consultant for $125 an hour. I encourage all our clients to go to SART, click on For Patients, the Find a Clinic: plug in your zip code for a clinic near you or click on a state for all its registered clinics. There you can find the clinic’s CDC-reported statistics for the past few years, where they separate their cycles by donor and non-donor, and in the cases of non-donor,

 

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Reaction to New York Times Article on Surrogacy

Posted On December 13th, 2009

Today’s New York Times article (“Building a Baby, with Few Ground Rules“) describes cases that went wrong, even though it mentions in passing that most surrogacies work out just fine. I hope it does not discourage intended parents from pursuing surrogacy, or just make surrogacy appear unseemly in the eyes of the general public.

The Michigan and Indiana cases discussed did not follow the proper legal or medical protocols at all; in fact, the egregiousness is stunning. These surrogacy cases should have never happened in the first place. Michigan is one of the few states hostile to surrogacy and we, or any legitimate agency, would never allow a surrogacy to take place there. All the clinics we work with have very strict protocols in place for medical and psychological screening; the single man from New Jersey would have never even made it into our program (as we are careful about the intended parents we work with), let alone pass the psychological screening that would take place at the clinic.

The article mentions that the American College of Obstectricians and Gynecologists recommends that “surrogacies be handled by nonprofit agencies,” but I am unaware of any such agencies with the legal experience to handle such complicated arrangements.

The field of surrogacy (and assisted reproduction in general) is not as unregulated as commonly perceived.  In fact, there is case law and/or statutes in a number of US states, where surrogacy can be practiced legally and safely (see our article,

 

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NAFG Expands into Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Washington DC

Posted On November 24th, 2009

Last week we announced the launch of four new locations for NAFG, in Atlanta, Dallas, Miami and Washington, DC.

We believe that by expanding our pool of egg donors, gestational carriers, and clients, it will be even easier for donors, recipients, gestational carriers and intended parents to take advantage of our services.  Press releases are linked below:

• Washington, DC
• Atlanta
• Miami
• Dallas

“Our new locations will offer the opportunity for our egg donors, gestational carriers, and intended parents to work locally, or take advantage of our recruitment efforts in other cities across the country. This makes NAFG unique among surrogacy and egg donation programs.”  – Sanford Benardo, Founder and President, Northeast Assisted Fertility Group

 

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Barnard College Holds Panel on Egg Donation

Posted On November 18th, 2009

A story ran on Tuesday about a panel at Barnard College which sought to raise questions about the cost and benefit in ongoing debates over egg donation.

Unless these quotations are wrong (and they may indeed be, if Barnard’s student journalism is as poorly researched as this panel discussion), these Barnard gals don’t really understand egg donation.

According to the panel’s organizer, who is apparently a student in her junior year: “Donors typically receive anywhere from $4,000 to $25,000 per egg.” This shows complete ignorance of the process, in which eggs are retrieved in numbers ranging from 5 to 20 or more at a time (no doctor would retrieve just one egg!). The donor gets paid per retrieval, not per egg. Her compensation does not depend on the number of eggs retrieved, but is a fixed amount agreed upon before the donation process starts. The compensation limit is $10,000 per retrieval, but these panel participants quote higher compensation fees throughout to make egg donation seem exploitive.

They also mention that egg donor advertisements do not include the risks. This is generally true, but although anyone can apply, only a small percentage of applicants actually go through with it (most do not qualify). Women who do donate are given extensive information about the risks. Most women who donate choose to do it again, and find it a very positive experience.

The panel discussion did not include any actual egg donors or anyone who conceived a child through egg donation: perhaps their participation would have injected some reality.

 

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Egg Donation & the Economy: Washington Times

Posted On September 23rd, 2009

The Washington Times has run an article, “Our bodies, our sales: No windfalls in plasma, egg donations” stating that while egg donation and surrogacy may provide financial payoffs, the criteria and long-term implications should be taken into consideration.  Kathy Benardo, director of the NAFG egg donor program, is quoted throughout this article on the economy’s impact on egg donation:

“I can get up to 100 applications a week.  Some don’t follow through when they see the screening they have to go through. Some are out of our age range [of 21 to 29 years old]. I even once got an application from a man. We also have a body-mass index qualification and an educational level qualification.”

Click here to read the article.

 

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Infertility Treatment in Poor Countries

Posted On August 27th, 2009

(Article in New Scientist: “Cheap IVF offers hope to childless millions”)

Despite the public perception that Africa is overpopulated, the majority of infertile couples reside in Third World countries, especially in Africa. The causes of infertility in Africa are much different from those in Europe and the US. In my experience, Western couples seek IVF and egg donation because of premature ovarian failure, polycystic ovarian syndrome, reproductive organs damaged by cancer, or unexplained infertility, either primary or secondary. In Africa, it is caused mainly by epidemic, untreated sexually transmitted disease and infection. Furthermore, there are horrific conditions unimaginable in the West, such as early teenage intercourse and pregnancy that leads to vaginal fistula or other complications, infections from genital mutilation, and the severe social ostracism associated with these genital diseases and infertility.

So low-cost ART (assisted reproductive technology) in Africa is controversial, since it treats a symptom, rather than a cause. But efforts to find low cost methods of treatment have created some ingenious, low-tech methods. One is the INVOcell, a capsule that uses the intended mother as an embryo incubator, rather than a costly mechanical incubator that requires electricity. The most typical treatments are less invasive (such as IUIs) that avoid costly IVF, although the success rates are lower than those in developed countries.

There are programs that raise money for equipment and training for these clinics: see the site for the Low Cost IVF Foundation.

 

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New York Women Can Now Be Paid to Donate Eggs for Research Purposes

Posted On June 21st, 2009

New York State’s 11-year, $600 million stem cell research initiative was approved as part of last year’s state budget; now labs can pay women to donate their eggs for research.  We are not sure yet what portion of the budget will fund the study of human oocytes (eggs), how the oocyte donors will be recruited, and how much the donors will be paid (although compensation will be within limits set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

The full text of the resolution and public statement can be found on the NYSTEM website, “ESSCB Statement on the Compensation of Oocyte Donors” (New York State Stem Cell Science).

We will continue to post on this issue as we learn more.

 

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Want to Be an Egg Donor? Good Photos are Key!

Posted On May 22nd, 2009

I review about one hundred egg donor applications a week. Of those I receive, only about three or four get posted on our database. Some very good candidates never get posted because we don’t have good photos of them. Even the best candidates cannot be matched without good photos.

We just added “Photo Submission Guidelines” to our Information for Egg Donors and Egg Donor Application pages so donors can have a better understanding of how the photos should look.

Photos are required to post on your profile for recipients to view. Photos are essential to attracting prospective recipients to your profile. Recipients use photos to evaluate the donor’s resemblance to them, the donor’s attractiveness, and the donor’s demeanor, temperament, “vibe,” “energy,” or whatever you want to call it. So three important qualities are required of every photo: it needs to be clear, flattering, and show you with a pleasing expression.

I can’t tell you how many photos I receive that show candidates carousing in a dark bar (with a beer in her hand!) among a crowd of people, taken on a cellphone with an unflattering view up the nostrils and out of focus, in a ski suit and goggles or Halloween costume that conceal all her features, taken inside a dark, messy room with a flash that makes the eyes red and the complexion washed out, taken so close-up it’s scary, showing the donor with a funny face, a scowl, or her tongue sticking out,

 

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