Mumbai, May 19: Egg donors scramble to sell for reasons that vary from no job to wanting a nose job. Lookers & the learned are making a killing
The reasons are many a new house, a jobless husband, the economic downturn or even a nose job. An overwhelming desire for a nest- egg ensures several women in the city under the age of 33 are increasingly turning to egg donations, say doctors. Good looks and good education can earn the donor as much as
Rs 50,000.
Oocyte donations, where a fertile woman donates her eggs from her ovaries to a needy couple, are being increasingly advertised on infertility clinic sites in the city and even in women’s magazines.
Money main factor
“There’s no doubt that money is the main factor driving these women,” said Dr Kedar Ganla, consultant infertility specialist at L H Hiranandani Hospital in Powai. “Most come in because they need funds to buy a house, or their spouses are unemployed or have lost their jobs and there is no money to run the household,” he said. Ganla advises women not to donate more than four times a year, as donating more “could compromise their chances of having a baby”.
Some doctors have seen a 50 per cent rise of donors over the last year. “Lots of girls come in because they need to help their families and also because they want to help couples too. We’re attracting donors from a wide spectrum that include doctors, engineers, bankers and lawyers,” said Dr Nandita Palshetkar of the Lilavati Hospital IVF clinic. Doctors will tell you that qualifications matter. “The difference in pay between a Std VIII pass and a post graduate can be as high as Rs 15,000,” said Ganla. The wide gamut available is clear online where donors include swimming champions, marketing executives and teachers. Some donors’ needs are sometimes unconventional. Take a 26-year-old woman who wanted to donate her eggs to get a nose job. “She was an executive drawing about Rs 25,000, unmarried and wanted to get into modeling but her parents wouldn’t give her the money. I had to turn her down,” said Dr Duru Shah of Gynaecworld.
And even though ICMR guidelines now allow any woman over the age of 18 to donate her eggs, Shah says that young girls often don’t understand the implications.
Surgical procedure
“It’s not like sperm donation for men. Here, a needle is inserted into the ovaries to extract the eggs, so it’s a minor surgical procedure. Improperly and frequently done, it could compromise the girl’s ability to have children in the future.” Like Ganla, Shah too only uses eggs from married women. Frequent donations to get money may cause depression too. “Such women who need the money for cosmetic procedures or partying may get depressed once they are unable to donate anymore and thus unable to get that money and develop obsessive compulsive traits,” said psychologist Seema Hingorani.
Egg rates
Delhi: Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000
Pune: Rs 40,000
Bangalore: Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000
Desired donor profile
>>33 years old or below
>>Disease and infection free
>>Features similar to couple
>>Well educated and employed
>>Same religion
>>Good looking
>>Respectable family history