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Egg donation - for donors | 
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It is not legal to pay for eggs in the UK - only the donor's expenses can be reimbursed and a nominal fee of £15 is paid to egg and sperm donors. The situation is very different in the US, where donors can receive fees of between $1500 and $5000. However even in the US financial arrangements vary and the fee itself is often intended to cover the donor's expenses - rather than being 'profit' - and depending on state laws the fee can be taxed at up to 45%.
Here are some comments about money from US donors on the Egg Donation listserv at TASC, published here with permission.
It's kind of interesting, the whole compensation thing. At first, before I started the cycle, I felt badly about being paid $7000 (tax free - because I was a single full-time student with no other income at the time). It kind of freaked me out, and made me feel like I was going to sell a piece of myself (and some people argued a piece of my soul) just to pay off some school-related loans. But then I started the process.
The Lupron shots themselves were not too bad. It took me a while to get used to the feeling - and I got EMLA to numb the injection site. After 10 days of Lupron, though - I started going to have blood drawn... a train and a bus ride away EVERY morning between 7 and 9 am. It was the middle of winter and still dark during my treks there. I had to pay for the train/bus... and something to eat during the journey. Then, of course, I had to rush back to the dorms to be back in time for my 9:05 classes.
Once they started me on Follistim, I was taking two, sometimes three shots a day - and that Follistim is evil! If I needed a higher dose, I couldn't just make it stronger, I had to take two seperate injections. Going out at night was a nightmare. I had to take the shots between 9 and 10 at night. One time I had to take a shot in a dirty rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike (I can't begin to describe to you how it feels to walk out of a stall with a syringe). The night that I took my final stimulant shot (FSH, i think it's called) - I had to go to a housewarming party for a friend. For those of you who have had this experience already - you can literally FEEL the eggs moving around inside of you. It is the oddest experience I have ever had - it feels like they're popping out of little shells or something... meanwhile I'm at a party... trying to ignore it... and not have any alcohol with my friends.
Okay, so back to the point. What I'm saying, or at least trying to say, is that we're not being paid for the actual eggs. We're taking on an extremely controlled ifestyle - inconveniencing ourselves for the sake of those little eggs that we hope will someday fulfill the 'twinkle' in someone's eye.
Compensation is trickier than any other issue. We can always explain why we need it, feel we deserve it, etc. But I think that as long as we all have heartfelt reasons for helping someone have a child, it shouldn't matter how we 'justify' receiving that check the day after. I think that what makes it hard to believe we do it for the compassionate reasons is when we see the ads in college newspapers... the largest print on them is the $7000 (or $2500, or whatever) in bold italic. Those ads are what turn egg donation into a cash proposition. People see those big numbers and don't think about what's really taking place with an egg donation.
I have a friend who used a donor egg, and her baby is so much a part of who she has become. She has blossomed into a mommy. THAT is certainly not something that a woman can pay $7000 or $2000 or a million thank yous to experience. Meri
As someone who just completed a cycle, and should be getting my check this week, I have something to say. The money I'm receiving is not going to make me rich. I'm probably one of the higher paid donors at $3000, but let's look at the month I've had.
My clinic had me getting blood drawn everyday for over 2 weeks, not to mention several ultrasound appointments. In addition, because I work as a veterinary technician and other people's safety depends on my ability to properly hold and restrain large animals, as I got full and sore, I was not always able to work. I also traveled across country for my retrieval. All of this adds up to many many days of missed work. I am an hourly employee and my paycheck takes a big hit when I'm not working. My first check of $500 helped pay my rent because my regular paycheck was smaller than normal. I figure when all is said and done, I'll probably clear $1000-1500. What else did I do to earn that money? Well, I didn't drink alcohol for 30 days prior to my retrieval, as per my contract. Not that I'm a heavy drinker, but I had friends in town, we went to the pub, I had a diet coke. I also couldn't have sex for a month. Not a huge problem in my case, but it could have been. It's just an inconvenience. Because of my clinic's whacked out protocol. I gave myself 2-3 injections a day for over 2 weeks, not including daily blood draws that got harder and harder because of my tiny veins. They were horribly bruised, making blood draws very painful, and they often had to stick me more than once to get it. Ouch! And of course, there's the procedure itself, which leaves you feeling like somebody punched you in the stomach. And let's not forget, because of their mistake, I ovulated... I have at least 6 eggs in there somewhere floating around, which means STILL no sex until I get my next period. You're right, that $1500 is awfully extravagant...
Would I do it again? Absolutely! But will I feel guilty about taking the check? No way...
Kristin
I know this is a hot topic, the money issue. I just wanted to add my two cents worth. My couple paid $1800 just for the record. The reasons I donated were many. I had seen friends try to have children for years and some are still trying and would be great parents. I have stood by other girlfriends as they lose babies to miscarriage time and time again... one friend of mine lost 4 babies. None of these women were in a situation where I could help them, other than to sit for hours and cry with them, but I knew I could help someone else.And I do not feel guilty about the fee that they paid for my time and travel, babysitting, etc... On top of that I am now dealing with some health problems that have come about because of the donation. And believe me, the cost of fixing me has far exceeded the compensation. Would I do anything differently... no way! I have the sweetest note from them I could have received. I also know that she became pregnant and nothing can compare to hearing how happy they were. I can't even describe how it felt to know that in some small way I helped this couple achieve a huge dream in their life. I know everyone out there has the right to have children, but I know many that should not have any at all! And I am very pleased to know that a child that came from one of my eggs was so very wanted.
I do not feel like I sold my eggs at all, because in my view a child is something you cannot put a price on, all I was paid for was several weeks time and trouble, it would be a very sad day to think that a child was worth only $1800. And as to having to live with this for the rest of my life, I am happy with that, as I know this baby was wanted and loved. And as for the other eggs (as there were 51) I was very careful about how those would be treated as well. So to sum up my rambling... even with the health problems, and the dealing with a great deal of eggs, I would not do it differently even if I had the chance.
Cindy
I do have a job, I think most of us do, although it's rather beside the point, I have a part time job and I also do freelance work and I have 25 hours of school a week, some of which I will have to miss to do my egg donation, and originally I had thought I wouldn't do another ED because it does seem rather hard on your body, and before the amount of my compensation was so low I was only breaking even with the time I had to take off work, but I found that with private donation you get a bit higher compensation and it's the only way I can afford school (and even then it's iffy, my school is $16,000 for ten months) and still I am working 40 hours a week. I have donated in the past for practically nothing and now that I am doing private donation, so what? I'm not trying to be greedy but the couples I am working with now don't even bat an eye at my "fee." I'm not getting rich here by any means, it's more like trading eggs for education, and I think it's a win/win situation.
Laura
And to all, my 2 cents once again, there isn't a person on this list I am sure that wouldn't be the type to donate huge contributions to charity if we were rich enough to do so, unfortuntely most are not, and compensation for the time and effort is perfectly reasonable. Money for time and effort is not payment but a small assistance in order to give life to another. In an ideal world it would be wonderful to afford to take time off and do this thing, but not all of us can afford to do so. I started off in this quest to help afford my own IVF to have a baby I truly want. Many things have come up along the way, and I may never get that baby, but I know I am responsible at least 4 times of giving that dream to someone else. First set of babies due in July, next set in November. Even now I would do it again, only I would really want to now the IP's a little more than just a phone call. Not that I would want to interfere in any way, with their lives or their child, but the support of a caring individual throughout the process would be nice, as I recall a lot of lonely times throughout the cycle being away from home, and away from my husband and family.
Bess
I agree with you that you should NEVER EVER donate for the money, I think we all know that that is definitely the wrong reason.However, I think many on this listserv would agree with me, that monetary compensation for lost work time, transportation and daycare costs, and similar things is neither immoral nor greedy. I have a full-time job with no health benefits OR sick time. Therefore, any time I take off for appointments, travel, or retrieval, costs me my hourly salary. I also pay $150/month for health insurance. I earn a lot per hour ($22) but pay most of it in student loans and ridiculous real estate prices so need to watch every penny. My donation caused me to take approximately 40 hours off work over 3 months ($860). I haven't even tried to calculate extraneous costs like transportation, day care, etc.
Personally, I think accepting less money than I would make if I just went to work instead (less than $1500), PLUS the sacrifice of giving myself numerous stinging injections, subjecting myself to frequent blood tests and pelvic exams (not what I'd call fun), and limiting my consumption of fun things like caffeine, sugar, and others so that I can help a couple of people with happiness, doesn't make me a bad person. I COULD NOT AFFORD financially to do a donation without the compensation due to my bills (as I'm sure many of the students who donate would agree). Also, I think I would probably feel like the sacrifices I had to make (listed above) without monetary compensation would be TOO GREAT for me to donate again in the future.
We all know that the word donation means giving of yourself without expecting a return. I think free with regard to money has just been tacked on after the fact because we live in a capitalist society. I think we all do expect something in return: that warm inner feeling that you were able to help someone in probably the deepest way possible. I think we all would also agree that going through the donation process is worth probably 10 times what anyone is paid, so I don't feel guilty in the slightest for accepting money for a donation.
I also hear that there is a shortage of donors compared to the number of IP's. I'm rather certain that telling everyone that they will not receive monetary compensation is not going to increase the number of available donors.
I have donated to unknown IPs at a clinic in my moderate sized town and recieved $1500, the standard amount chosen by this clinic. I've also found that most clinics with unknown IPs in Seattle pay only around $1700. These are the lowest amounts I've seen to date, everything I've seen has been around $2500. However, I have no experience with known donation.
Emma
