Blog

Infertility Treatment in Poor Countries
Posted On August 27th, 2009

(Article in New Scientist: “Cheap IVF offers hope to childless millions”)

Despite the public perception that Africa is overpopulated, the majority of infertile couples reside in Third World countries, especially in Africa. The causes of infertility in Africa are much different from those in Europe and the US. In my experience, Western couples seek IVF and egg donation because of premature ovarian failure, polycystic ovarian syndrome, reproductive organs damaged by cancer, or unexplained infertility, either primary or secondary. In Africa, it is caused mainly by epidemic, untreated sexually transmitted disease and infection. Furthermore, there are horrific conditions unimaginable in the West, such as early teenage intercourse and pregnancy that leads to vaginal fistula or other complications, infections from genital mutilation, and the severe social ostracism associated with these genital diseases and infertility.

So low-cost ART (assisted reproductive technology) in Africa is controversial, since it treats a symptom, rather than a cause. But efforts to find low cost methods of treatment have created some ingenious, low-tech methods. One is the INVOcell, a capsule that uses the intended mother as an embryo incubator, rather than a costly mechanical incubator that requires electricity. The most typical treatments are less invasive (such as IUIs) that avoid costly IVF, although the success rates are lower than those in developed countries.

There are programs that raise money for equipment and training for these clinics: see the site for the Low Cost IVF Foundation.

 

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New York Women Can Now Be Paid to Donate Eggs for Research Purposes
Posted On June 21st, 2009

New York State’s 11-year, $600 million stem cell research initiative was approved as part of last year’s state budget; now labs can pay women to donate their eggs for research.  We are not sure yet what portion of the budget will fund the study of human oocytes (eggs), how the oocyte donors will be recruited, and how much the donors will be paid (although compensation will be within limits set by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM).

The full text of the resolution and public statement can be found on the NYSTEM website, “ESSCB Statement on the Compensation of Oocyte Donors” (New York State Stem Cell Science).

We will continue to post on this issue as we learn more.

 

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Want to Be an Egg Donor? Good Photos are Key!
Posted On May 22nd, 2009

I review about one hundred egg donor applications a week. Of those I receive, only about three or four get posted on our database. Some very good candidates never get posted because we don’t have good photos of them. Even the best candidates cannot be matched without good photos.

We just added “Photo Submission Guidelines” to our Information for Egg Donors and Egg Donor Application pages so donors can have a better understanding of how the photos should look.

Photos are required to post on your profile for recipients to view. Photos are essential to attracting prospective recipients to your profile. Recipients use photos to evaluate the donor’s resemblance to them, the donor’s attractiveness, and the donor’s demeanor, temperament, “vibe,” “energy,” or whatever you want to call it. So three important qualities are required of every photo: it needs to be clear, flattering, and show you with a pleasing expression.

I can’t tell you how many photos I receive that show candidates carousing in a dark bar (with a beer in her hand!) among a crowd of people, taken on a cellphone with an unflattering view up the nostrils and out of focus, in a ski suit and goggles or Halloween costume that conceal all her features, taken inside a dark, messy room with a flash that makes the eyes red and the complexion washed out, taken so close-up it’s scary, showing the donor with a funny face, a scowl, or her tongue sticking out,

 

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Should I Tell My Child He/She was Conceived With a Donor Egg?
Posted On March 1st, 2009

Of course, only you can make a decision about your child. But in my experience, openness and honesty is rewarded with respect. On the other hand, secrecy and deception fosters anger and resentment.

Your child will love you no less with the knowledge about his or her conception. It does not threaten the family unit at all, but inspires new connections. Take a look at this Science Daily article: “Re-shaping The Family: What Happens When Parents Seek Siblings Of Their Donor-conceived Children“.

Parents who have conceived children with the help of sperm or egg donors and then try to find the egg donors — and also other children conceived with the donors’ help — often end up creating new forms of extended families, according to new research.

 

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CNN’s coverage of octuplets and fertility clinics
Posted On February 19th, 2009

CNN has run an article, “Six embryos?! How to avoid a fertility fiasco” which spotlights the birth of octuplets to Nadya Suleman last month, and the picture this has painted of fertility clinics.

This article demonstrates how important the ASRM’s guidelines are in keeping fertility treatment safe as well as free of government intervention. Make sure your clinic and/or egg donation agency is a member of ASRM and follows its recommendations.

 

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New York Times article on infertility treatment
Posted On February 12th, 2009

It was a shock to learn that “Octo Mom” got pregnant with all those babies through IVF (in vitro fertilization) rather than just IUI (intrauterine insemination): what doctor would transfer all those embryos? Unfortunately, there are a few unethical doctors out there who make the industry look like a freak show.

An excellent article in today’s New York Times (“Birth of Octuplets Puts Focus on Fertility Clinics“) explains the issues very accurately: the ASRM’s recommended limit on the number of embryos transferred, versus the financial pressure to keep the number of transfers low (and therefore the number of embryos transferred high).

This story gets to the bottom of the conflict: the need for better insurance coverage for infertility treatment.

 

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Donor Egg Decision Making Seminar: Saturday, February 7
Posted On January 30th, 2009

NAFG President Sanford Benardo will be participating in a “Donor Egg Decision Making Seminar” sponsored by the Baystate Chapter of Resolve. It will take place at the Children’s Hospital in Waltham, MA on Saturday, February 7 from 9:30 AM to 5 PM.

Sanford will speak on “Finding a Donor and the Legal Issues” between 11:15 and 12:45. Other contributors will include NAFG team member Spencer Billings Nineberg, social worker Nancy Doctor, and Dr. Samuel Pang and Ann Moegle RN from Reproductive Science Center in Lexington, MA.

For more information, go to www.resolveofthebaystate.org.

 

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CBS story on Egg Donation in New York
Posted On January 27th, 2009

Tonight, Cindy Hsu of CBS New York contributed yet another story about the growing popularity of egg donation, featuring Northeast Assisted Fertility Group’s egg donor program.

“If you’re motivated you can do a wonderful thing and help somebody and help yourself at the same time, but do not think that this is a way to walk into $10,000 and pick up your check,” said Northeast Assisted Fertility’s Sanford Bernardo. “In fact, the payment is not for your eggs. You’re not selling eggs. It’s for the time and suffering involved.”

Click here to see the video.

 

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