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Frozen Donor Eggs: An Emerging Market and a Word to the Wise

Posted On October 10th, 2013

Now that new freezing techniques have made frozen eggs more viable, doctors and patients are eager to work them, as they offer some time and cost advantages over fresh. However, because a donor egg cycle is so costly, is it not financially practical in most cases for a clinic to do a donor egg cycle on speculation. The costs for the procedures, drugs, and donor compensation are typically more than the selling price of the resulting eggs. So clinics have been working on some creative solutions, which they may enthusiastically pitch to their patients as well as to prospective donors. I would like to make both parties aware of the full implications and motivations of these strategies, so that they can make informed decisions.

DONOR EGG RECIPIENTS: your doctor may encourage you NOT to fertilize all the eggs retrieved from your donor, to avoid the supposed ethical conundrum of left over frozen embryos. I am dubious of this advice, as in my experience, recipients want as many good quality frozen embryos as possible, and would not want to compromise all that time, money, and effort by not fertilizing all their eggs. Any doctor who advises this does not have that state of your conscience in mind: he or she wants to buy any left over frozen eggs from you to sell to his other patients! Most egg donor recipients we work with would rather have frozen embryos than an extra few hundred dollars, although some may appreciate getting some money back.

 

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Surrogate Offered $10,000 to Abort Baby: CNN

Posted On March 5th, 2013

Here is a case of everything done wrong: as reported by CNN, Crystal Kelley, a financially desperate single mother with two previous miscarriages, refuses to abort a fetus with serious developmental problems, defying the demands of the intended parents.

Crystal Kelley is not a good candidate for gestational carrier, and should never have been accepted by any program or clinic. Although a surrogate is being paid, her financial situation should be stable. She should also be married or have a stable partner for support. Any potential carrier who is categorically against abortion under any circumstances is not accepted into our program; furthermore, the possibility of abortion is discussed in detail at the first meeting between carrier and intended parents. This meeting should not take place casually in a playground, as it was here, but in an office supervised by experienced professionals who navigate both parties through this sensitive endeavor, making sure expectations are set and met.

Did the intended parents know of their carrier’s attitude on abortion before they decided to work with her? It does not appear that they did, and this indicates serious negligence on the part of the professionals (agency, social workers, etc) who handled this case.

It is regrettable that the public perception of surrogacy may be tarnished by this tragic case. The contrast between the right and wrong way to conduct a surrogacy is well illustrated here.

 

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