By Alison Motluck | Undark | February 24, 2020
From charging “recovery fees” to forging legal documents to harassment, some fertility clinics have gone to extreme measures to coerce women into egg provision even after they decide against it. This article highlights the stories of four women who experienced serious personal consequences after severing their relationships with fertility clinics.
BBC News | February 17, 2020
Lord Winston is a professor of fertility studies who is calling into question the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority’s advertised success rate of pregnancy using frozen eggs. As this article and video explain, his estimates rely on measuring the success rate at a different stage of fertility treatment, which—he says—is more accurate than the one used by the HFEA.
By Alison Motluk | Hey Reprotech! | August 27, 2019
This blog post summarizes the origin story of the support network We Are Egg Donors, and explains why one of the founding members recently resigned from her leadership role.
Misconceptions
By Reveal | The Center for Investigative Reporting and PRX | Sept. 15, 2018
Originally broadcast in June 2017, around the 40th anniversary of in vitro fertilization, this podcast follows a couple that “puts its trust in a fertility clinic that promises more than it can deliver.” It explores the world of fertility treatment and the clinics and intended parents it brings together with promises of forming families.
I’ve Met Hundreds of Egg Donors. This Is What I Have Learned.
By Raquel Cool | We Are Egg Donors | Dec. 26, 2017
Watch Raquel, co-founder of We Are Egg Donors, and others in its 1000+ member network share their experiences and concerns related to paid egg donation, from the risks associated with unethically high numbers of harvested eggs to the absence of data on the health of those that provide these eggs. This video was commissioned by Our Bodies Ourselves, as part of the organization’s ongoing efforts to increase public awareness on issues related to egg retrieval.
We Are Egg Donors is the first advocacy group for egg providers created by egg providers. The group invites egg providers to share their stories and welcomes them into the network.
Read Cool’s personal account, describing the organization’s commitment to ensuring egg providers are informed, supported, safe, and connected to agencies that will advocate for them.
What to Think About When Considering Donating Your Eggs
By Diane Tober | Rewire | March 16, 2017
Egg donation can bring joy to other people, but it is not a process to enter into lightly. There are children being created that one day may want to know you. Your perspective may change over time. And it is a medical procedure that includes putting large dosages of hormones into your body that may affect your health or future fertility.
This article by Dr. Diane Tober is a must-read, especially for people contemplating becoming egg providers. It describes the nuts and bolts of the process and all the risks along the way. It offers suggestions to improve outcomes, featuring data gathered from egg providers that have participated in Tober’s ongoing research on their decisions and experiences.
Dr. Tober has conducted extensive research in topics related to bioethics, reproductive technologies, and commodification of the body. For more on her work and writing, visit the website of the Center for Genetics and Society.
Why You Should Know About IVF’s Potentially Fatal Side Effects
By Ila Ananya | The Wire | March 21, 2017
This article follows the story of Arathi Krishnan Chhetri, a 34-year-old woman who sought help from a well-known IVF clinic in the Indian state of Bangalore. It provides painstaking details on her interaction with clinic providers, highlighting the lack of transparency and inept or lackadaisical care that have come to define fertility treatment in many situations. Through Chhetri’s experience with Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome, which landed her in the Intensive Care Unit, the author guides readers through possible symptoms and cautions on current practices in IVF.
Women Fear Drug They Used to Halt Puberty Led to Health Problems
By Christine Jewett | Kaiser Health News | Feb. 2, 2017
Lupron is most often linked to egg retrieval. (See Egg Providers and other articles in this section, such as Diane Tober’s piece on Rewire, for more information.)
Few people might be aware of Lupron’s use to treat central precocious puberty (PP) or growth issues in young children. Kaiser Health News and Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting track the effects of the drug on adults exposed to it as children, to treat PP. The article follows Sharissa Derricott, now 30 years and living in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and others who have suffered a laundry list of physical and emotional problems as a result.
In a related piece by Lynne Millican, people are invited to share their own experiences with Lupron. Learn more about Lynne’s personal journey on Impact Ethics and visit her website.
By Emily Woodruff | STAT | January 28, 2017
There has been little research on the long-term health outcomes for egg donors. Most of the research that has been conducted on egg extraction has focused on people undergoing in vitro fertilization (or IVF)—an entirely different population. This reality begs the question posed by one of the patients quoted in this article: “How informed can your consent be if we don’t have the information?”
