Brown students and ethics specialists alike are split over the question By Helen Willard Contributing Writer Five thousand dollars sounds good to many college students struggling to make ends meet. For instance, there is an ethical debate, outlined in a recent article in The New York Times, over how much money egg donors should receive for their donations. This logic implies that compensation should be low. The price for eggs will result from the balance between supply and demand. Some people on campus feel that compensation for donors should be at a minimum.
Fertility doctors recognize the control young women have over their very valuable eggs.
As long as infertile couples are willing to pay for the eggs, the price can continue to rise. Egg donation is not an easy process. A woman wishing to donate must inject herself with hormones for two weeks, making her ovaries swell, sometimes to the size of grapefruit. She must also have frequent blood tests and ultrasound examinations to assess the ripening cluster of eggs. There can be complications, although the overwhelming majority of donors suffer none.