Northeast Assisted Fertility Group to be Featured on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” Next Week – Story on Egg Donation
<Click to watch the CNN video, “Egg Donors on the Rise”>
Now CNN has picked up on the “surge” in egg donation and they invited Sanford and me to participate in the story. They were especially interested in speaking with an egg donor who was motivated by the current economic downturn. A few of our fabulous donors agreed to participate in the story; they chose one who was sufficiently motivated by money.
Randi Kaye and her team came to our office today and were very professional. Ms. Kaye asked me questions about the relationship between the economy and the number of egg donation applicants we receive, and I agreed that there was an increase. She did veer into sensationalism on occasion:
“Just HOW desperate are these donors?”
“How do you respond to people who say this is baby selling?”
“How do you respond to the term ‘debt donors’?”
[Desperation is not a desirable quality in an egg donor. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine endorses compensation for egg donation as ethical (I handed them the ASRM position paper) and no one claims egg donation is baby selling. I never heard the term “debt donor.” My response to that one was “Huh?”: I trust they will edited that one out, and “debt donor” doesn’t catch on.]
In each case, I attempted to get back on track to the real story: infertility is a disease, and egg donation is a very effective treatment. Egg donors are paid for their time and effort, and recipients get the chance to have a baby. If the egg donor compensation is not coercive, then all parties benefit with little medical or financial risk.
They plan to air the story next week; I‘ll post the date as soon as it’s confirmed.
