Times are tough, and people are having to pinch pennies because of our shattering economy; some are even choosing to sell their personal possessions to help pay the bills. 
In extreme situations, though, people are resorting to selling products from their bodies, including blood plasma, hair, eggs, and sperm — apparently it's a way to make quick cash. A shot of sperm can earn a guy $60 to $100, and for fertile eggs, a woman can make up to $7,000 per egg! I guess this idea is sounding pretty good to some, because sperm banks have reported that donations have tripled from 50 to 150 a month, and egg donations have increased by 30 percent.
Of course you have to meet strict criteria and pass rigorous testing in order to sell your precious goods, but if you could, would you give up your sperm or eggs to make some dough?
Labour Of Love
Esprit
Kookaﾕ
For $7,000 you bet your ass I would sell my eggs. I'm young and have plenty of eggs to waste. In fact, I'm disease free and fall break in around the corner. I might just look into that.
1No, I see it as a very serious moral decision. These egg donor companies prey on young, poor students at my college.
2I need money, and $7000 sounds really sweet.
Yeah, I'd do it.
3at 7,000 bucks an egg, yea sure. Take'em. I have more!
4I dont think I could. I would always be wondering if a little me is running around somewhere!
5The money sounds great, except I wouldn't want children with my DNA running around that I did not birth. Plus doctors select your "best" eggs for whom you're donating to and leave you with the ones not good enough for the donor (but good enough for you?). I want my "best" eggs for myself dangit!
But I would totally do it for a family member or if I had decided to never have children.
6I've actually looked into it and thought about it.
7I have one child, and I don't plan on having anymore, and I'm still relatively young and healthy. However, I have thought about doing it for different reasons, not just financial, but also because I can help give someone something that they can't have on their own. I think that's really special and it would make me feel really good. It's too bad there are people that do it for the wrong reasons-and don't think about the consequences and what really goes into the process. It's tough on a woman physically and mentally and it's a decision that you'll remember for the rest of your life, so it shouldn't be a carefree, make-money-scheme, it should be a positive way to help other people.
I agree with cjmara... the money sounds awesome but I would always wonder if there was a piece of me walking around out there.
8Marni7 - I agree completely.
9"The money sounds great, except I wouldn't want children with my DNA running around that I did not birth."
I feel the same way.
10I don't want my own children but I don't think I would feel comfortable donating my eggs.
11I respect a woman's/man's decision to donate their eggs/sperm, but it's just not for me.
12I meant sell. Too early, haha.
But I feel the same way about donating.
13it's not as if you walk in, leave an egg or 2 and pick up a check. it's an involved process that requires injections to encourage multiple eggs to mature faster and then a medical procedure to remove them.
a friend of a friend is now pregnant with twins through egg donor in vitro. but they are on their 3rd egg donor because after the first 2 women were chosen to donate their eggs and reflected on their decision they backed out. it was heartbreaking for her both times. she's about 8 weeks pregnant now and just thrilled.
anyway, it's wonderful to give another person the chance to become a parent, but know what you are in for before saying "yes".
personally unless it was someone i knew i couldn't ever consider it. i'd wake up everyday wondering if i had biological children out there, if they were healthy, well cared for, what they looked like, etc.
14i would totally do it but I dont follow any of the regulations! You have to be a non-smoker, between certain ages and between a certain weight, no major sicknesses in the family etc etc etic. Would if I could but I cant so I wont!
15I could not do this. I don't want a stranger having my babies.
16I absolutely would donate eggs, but I've read that it can be a dangerous procedure. I do meet all the requirements, though, and since my husband and I do not want kids, I might consider donating at some point.
17I wouldn't.
18Like licketysplit said, it's not as easy as it sounds. I have heard that all the hormones from the shots involved make you go crazy.. think of birth control hormones X100. lol - Also, I think I remember reading that you have to obstain from sex a great deal of the month, maybe entirely? I'm not positive.
19The money sounds great and I'm young and healthy, but to do egg donation you have to take all kinds of hormone drugs and there is no real evidence about what that can do to your fertility later in life. To me, it just seems to risky. Plus, I've heard that once you do it one time successfully that fertility clinics will continually try to get you to donate again, which just ups the potential for any future problems.
20hell yes! i thought about it while in college and poor, but i never did anything about it. the money is great, plus i'd love the feeling of allowing an infertile couple to have a child.
21No, I would go nuts thinking about it after the fact. Plus, isn't the process of harvesting an egg pretty time consuming and elaborate?
22haha me and my bf were talking about this the other day..we were at Nordstrom and there was this AMAZING jacket and i told him that i would sell my left ovary for it(hinting at a xmas present..lol)and at the cost of the jacket it might just be close enough..then we were on our way home and there was a commercial advertising donating your eggs for $5k and we looked at each other and laughed! It would be easier than giving up my ovary!
But on a serious note, i could just see myself walking down the street 15 years from now and seeing a mini me...i think it would really freak me out!!
23I could never do this.
24No, I don't want to live a life wondering if I have a 'child' out there..
25I'm not sure I could do this for all the reasons people listed above. However, I'm also not planning on having children in my lifetime, and I would like to help an infertile couple... I would consider it, but I don't know if I could do it.
26If I was in SERIOUS financial straits, then I just might donate. $7,000 can make a HUGE difference in life. But I would be *very* hesitant to do so.
On the pro side: I'm pretty sure I'd pass muster to donate and I'm young, so I've got plenty. If I remember correctly: women are born with about 500,000 eggs...and we end up only birthing about 2-3 kids on average. I think a very small percentage of those eggs ever exist the ovaries to begin with, with periods and everything over the course of one's life ...why *not* donate the rest, especially to loving couples and families who have trouble conceiving? I've never really thought about having kids, I'm in no position too, and I feel I might be comfortable right now knowing that I might have potential kids running around.
The con side: But of course, I realize that I'm young, and that sentiment could change later on. So why take the chance on doing it, even though the money is appealing, if there's going to be some regret later on? How does this affect my future fertility/health? and of course they would gear this towards poor college students, like they do most other things. I don't want to get suckered.
Have they done studies about how guy's feelings change about potential children after they donate sperm? Maybe this would shed some light on the issue.
27There is no comparison between donating sperm and donating eggs. Donating sperm takes a few minutes and , lets face it, it's just saving the outcome of something that guys do anyway. Donating eggs is a long and complicated process that could have serious detrimental effects on health. That $7,000 sure looks sweet right now, but the complications it could cause are just not worth it.
On a personal note, they would probably never take my eggs. Way too many genetic problems in my family. Which is why I will only have kids if I find someone with amazing genes....
28If I could, I certainly would. I would love to be able to help another family have a child they could not otherwise have on their own. I don't think I can though, because I have a history of mental illness in my family.
29No I would sell my eggs, I couldn't imagine having my child out there.
30*I wouldn't*
31Pfrrt a shot glass of sperm? I'll give more if you up the price! I guess I can understand the egg situation since women have a limited amount. They should up the price if the spermies are good swimmers ^_^.
32i totally would, i don't want kids, don't ever plan on poppin one out so why not?
33I would never do this. Having kids already I know what it feels like to have a "mini-you" around. I wouldn't live right knowing that a child that could have been mine is out there. But thats just me!
Im glad people who dont intend to have children and people who just wouldn't mind doing it ARE out there. It gives so much hope for women and men who want a child and cant!
34I would never sell my eggs nor give them away for that matter. I don't want my DNA floating around.
35$7,000?? what??? that does looks really GOOD!!!!!!!!!! hmmmmmmmmm
36I was actually talking to someone about this the other day and I would. The fact of little "mes" out there really wouldn't bother me, not sure why. Ha.
37I was actually talking to someone about this the other day and I would. The fact of little "mes" out there really wouldn't bother me, not sure why. Ha.
38missangelique999 is on the right brain wave. I've talked about this with coworkers.
The thing is they "prey" on college poor kids, but they prefer to have women who have already popped out a kid already just so they know that you're not infertile, you know? and it's so much money because of the surgeries and stuff. they pay for that, and then you get money afterward. but it is not an outpatient procedure. it's full surgery.
39No. If I was that hard up for cash I would figure something else out. I dont have any kids yet, but I want to someday and I dont think Id like the idea of someone having my kid before I do!
40
DearSugar should have added a side scenario on what if the price
were higher, say in the tens or hundreds of thousands, I wonder what people would say in that case, after all, money changes a lot of people.
41Oh god never.
1) They're my babies
I'd go crazy. Like mommaof2 said I'd always wonder if one of them could
be out there somewhere.
422) Just thinking about the procedure scares the crap out of me
3) If I'm going to donate eggs I'd do it out of the goodness of my heart to help another woman; I wouldn't feel right taking the money. How would it be any different from selling an actual child?
This reminds me of Ally McBeal when a miniature Hayden Paniterre showed up at her doorstep. Nope! Not for me.
43^ Every guy's nightmare, lol. It's like that movie "The Game Plan." In this case, I'll pass.
44It's tempting and I've definitely thought about it...but I guess the fact that I haven't seriously looked into it in all these years says something.
45Just to give an egg away, no. Maybe if I had gotten to know someone who couldn't have a child or whatever, then maybe. For a friend or family member... in a heartbeat at no charge!
46How about hell no? I'm still traumatized by story I read about two couples who actually married only to find out they were half brothers and sisters who's parents had both used same sperm bank. I wouldn't want that to happen to any biological children I had running around. I don't understand why people just can't adopt if they want a child so badly. There are millions of children out there who want to be adopted.
47I have done it multiple times. It involoved lots of pre-tests ran to check my overall health, hereditary diseases, and family medical history just to get approved. After that each cycle is about 3 weeks of hormone shots, followed buy a procedure which involves being put to sleep for 20 minutes. It is not an easy process, but I have found it to be very rewarding. Yes, I was able to pay off my car, and pay my bills with the money, but I have recived a few letters from very thankful new parents. I have ton of eggs I will never use, and if I cn help someone out then why not? I was also able to stipulate in my contracts that I can only be contacted in the future through a seperate agency after the child is over 18 and ecie if I would like to repond of not. It is not a process that anyone can do or feel compfortable doing, but I am very glad I have done it and I am lucky enough to have a very supporitve boyfriend about it as well.
48kred just being curious here would you have contact with that child 18 years later? none of my biz I know...just curious!
49Myst that story is crazy! Very scary!
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