New York Times Magazine Examines Implications Of Egg Donation In U.S.

The New York Times Magazine on Sunday examined issues related to the increased use of egg donation for fertility treatments in the U.S. Donor eggs are now used in 12% of all in vitro fertilization attempts, making it the "fastest-growing infertility treatment," the Times Magazine reports.

According CDC data, there were 15,175 attempts by women in the U.S. to become pregnant using donated eggs in 2004 -- resulting in 5,449 infants -- compared with 1,802 attempts by women in 1992. The technique has "succeeded in, if not extending women's fertility, at least making an end-run around it," allowing older women and women with ovarian conditions to become pregnant, according to the Times Magazine. Most of the women who undergo the procedure are in their 40s, the Times Magazine reports.

According to the Times Magazine, the increase in egg donation, "as with any new reproductive technology, ... has provoked a torrent of social, legal and ethical questions about the entitlement to reproduce, what constitutes parenthood, children's right to know their origins and the very nature of family." Several studies have shown that most donor recipients do not tell their children about their origins, but some researchers say the "trend is reversing," the Times Magazine reports.

Some donors -- including Asians, Jewish women and Ivy League graduates -- are considered "exceptional donors" and command a "hefty premium," but often it cannot be determined if the information provided by the donor is accurate, according to the Times Magazine. The American Society of Reproductive Medicine in a position paper in 2006 stated that anything more than $5,000 compensation for egg donation needs "justification," adding that compensation of more than $10,000 is "beyond what is appropriate." However, some egg brokers pay women more for their eggs, the Times Magazine reports. Some countries, including Canada and France, have banned payments to egg donors (Orenstein, New York Times Magazine, 7/15).

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