“High IQ Eggs Wanted” – ads appeal to ego and altruism, offer $10,000

This ad appeared as a “suggested post” on a law student’s Facebook News Feed page. Sponsored by A Perfect Match, a southern California company that “specializes in the recruitment of intelligent, college-aged egg donors,” it includes appealing taglines: “Gift of life,” “$10,000 or more,” “Change lives . . . earn money!”

The law student said the ad made her feel “like a hen.”

The fertility industry asserts that women gift their eggs for others’ use and receive payment for the time and effort of doing so. Thus, we call them “egg donors.” In fact, the egg donation process carefully calibrates the ratio of altruism and financial need that motivates women to provide eggs for other’s use.

Medical sociologist Jennifer Haylett’s work in fertility centers reveals that staff screen out applicants who place too much emphasis on financial motive. Rene Almeling’s research shows that fertility clinics nudge egg providers to construct altruistic explanations. And yet, what intended parents and agencies pay for are ascribed traits.

The ABCs of egg donation are SAT, IQ, and college ranking. High scores and enrollment at prestigious universities are central to the egg market. Certainly, other traits matter, as well. Youth, good health, race, ethnicity, religion, good looks, height, and athleticism are among the characteristics used to solicit, profile, and select women. Women not enrolled in college are sometimes chosen as third-party egg providers. But what agencies prize are college students.

Third-party eggs form the basis of a luxury market governed by the rules of supply and demand. For example, demand for eggs from Asian women exceeds supply. Thus, prices offered to Asian women for their eggs sometimes exceed the prices offered to women of other races. However, it is the elitist criteria – near-perfect SAT scores and a place at a top-ten university – that consistently command the higher prices.

Paying women to provide high IQ eggs resembles a mix of awarding scholarships and executing futures contracts. Universities, egg agencies, and intended parents offer “$10,000 or more” to applicants who meet the elite criteria. Like commodities traders, they are speculating. Agency ads invite speculation in high scores as predictors of future success. It is probably true that if and when conception with third-party eggs results in birth, parents care more about the happiness and well-being than the IQs of their children. But at the outset, so-called traits like test scores matter. They matter most because of the ways in which SAT, IQ and college ranking are used to sort and price women who want “to change lives and earn money.”

The “High IQ Eggs Wanted” ad omits any notice of health risks arising from ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval. California law requires that ads include specific notice language that includes the statement, “There may be risks associated with human egg donation.” The law exempts members of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) who certify compliance with ASRM guidelines. By its own admission, A Perfect Match, Inc. exceeds the ASRM guidelines that restrict payment to women to $5,000 to $10,000, and is therefore subject to the notice requirement.

The California law also requires disclosure to women, before any contract is signed, of “specific information on the known risks of egg donation.” Disclosure does not address risks arising from the conflict of interest that pervades egg retrieval from egg donors – most physicians who perform the procedure are paid to maximize the fertility chances of another.

However, disclosure is important. Known risks focus on short-term, physical risks. They range from mild to severe effects of the drugs used to suppress ovulation, stimulate production of multiple eggs, and then release the eggs simultaneously. Severe ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS) may be the scariest risk. Researchers have identified risk factors for OHSS,and ironically, agencies select for two of these factors – youth and low body mass index. It is suspected that conflict of interest prompts use of a third factor – high doses of ovarian stimulation drugs to maximize egg production.

There are unknowns, as well, including long-term effects of the drug most often used for ovarian suppression. Apparently, that’s the acceptable cost of making the gift of life.

Lisa Ikemoto, J.D., LL.M., is Professor at the University of California, Davis School of Law, where she teaches bioethics, health care law, public health law, reproductive rights, law & policy, and marital property, and a Fellow at the Center for Genetics and Society.