Ronsangels sells more than a pretty face
by Anna Schooley, Outpost contributor
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This isn't softcore pornography, but Ron Harris's Web site designed to sell human eggs of supermodels to the wealthy. The price starts at $15,but the price for the most beautiful, successful or popular can be as much as $150,000.
"Ron's Angels" is a representation of an extreme in the fast growing industry of egg harvesting for invitro fertilization. At the Northern Nevada Fertility Center, in Reno, "donors" receive $2,500 in compensation for successful egg retrieval. The price varies throughout the country, and can often as high as $5,000.
It is the couples who purchase the eggs who keep the clinics profitable. At Egg Donation, Inc. of Beverly Hills, Calif., the cost of a single implantation is estimated at $6,500, excluding medical bills, doctor's fees, medications, and lab fees. With these additional costs, the price can reach up to $25,000.
What we really need to consider here is if this really is
ethical? And how is this classified as "donation." The
definition of a "donation" is a free contribution for a
humanitarian effort. However, these women who are "donating"
eggs are in fact selling them. In that case, perhaps the
title should be amended to "Egg Seller." Ronsangels
Center
for Surrogate Parenting Inc.
Fertile
Thoughts
Anonymous
Egg Donation and Egg Donation History
Pacific
Connection Fertility Services Inc.
Laws in the United States prohibit the sale of organs; they are donated and distributed according to need. Yet there is a price on fertility, and this price encourages women, often at a vulnerable stage of life, to donate.
The United Kingdom is proof that when women are not paid they do not donate their eggs. Martin H. Johnson in "The culture of unpaid and voluntary egg donation should be strengthened," discusses that the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act of 1990 prohibits payment for most acts of egg donation in the United Kingdom. Therefore, there is a shortage of eggs. Couples that want eggs, and can afford the price, can come to the United States to purchase their eggs.
Who is the largest group of donators? Advertising is usually targeted in college newspapers, or alternative media. The information packet from the Northern Nevada Fertility Clinic does not specify any age restrictions. In the 22 page application, detailed questions are asked about the donor's family health history and the donor's family physical characteristics. Additionally, an Academic Information section asks for the donor's SAT, LSAT, MCAT, or GRE scores. This application suggests that physical characteristics and intelligence are the most important considerations. Many of the advertisements suggest that smart, beautiful woman between the ages of 21 and 31 are at the optimum age to donate.
Donating eggs does not come without risk. Mood swings, enlarged ovaries, abdominal bloating and discomfort, bleeding and cysts can all be side effects. There are extensive physical and psychological examinations performed on applicants that include determining the donor's motivation for wanting to be an egg donor.
The risks are easy to ignore when the price is high enough. However, it if it unethical to sell organs, then why should fertility be for sale to those who can afford it? Not all women who donate eggs do so for the benefit of humanity but rather for the benefit of their credit cards and student loans. If we ban the sale of eggs, I am sure that just like the UK, the number of donations will decrease. With the present system, egg recipients are limited to couples with a thick wallet. Just as people who need heart or liver transplants cannot buy their salvation, fertility should be assessed according to need, not price.
Posted Nov. 18, 1999
Copyright 1999 Nevada Outpost
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