{"55065":{"#nid":"55065","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Fertility industry offers big money to recruit \u201cdesirable\u201d egg donors at top universities","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EMany egg donation agencies and private couples routinely\nexceed compensation recommendation limits for potential donors, a new study\nfinds.\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EFrom a sample of over 300 college newspapers, findings\nrevealed that almost one-quarter of advertisements offered payment in excess of\n$10,000, a violation of guidelines issued by the American Society for\nReproductive Medicine (ASRM).\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003ECompensation strongly correlated with average SAT score of\nthe university\u2019s students, according to the study published in \u003Cem\u003EThe Hastings Center Report\u003C\/em\u003E by researcher\nAaron D. Levine, of the Georgia Institute of Technology. In addition,\napproximately one-quarter of the advertisements listed specific requirements\nfor potential donors, such as appearance or ethnicity. This also goes against\nASRM guidelines, which prohibit linking compensation to donor personal\ncharacteristics.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EHolding all else equal, such as demand for in vitro\nfertilization within a state and donor agency variables, Levine found that each\nincrease of 100 SAT points in the average for a university increased the\ncompensation offered to egg donors at that school by $2,350.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EOf the advertisements violating ASRM guidelines, many\noffered $20,000, several offered $35,000, and one was as high as $50,000. Current\nASRM guidelines recommend that sums of $5,000 or more require justification and\nsums above $10,000 are not appropriate.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EThe extent to which compensation limits are appropriate\nremains an open question, says Levine, but industry steps to self-regulate\ncould alleviate concerns about exploitation. Monetary thresholds may be\nvaluable if these limits protect a substantial number of potential donors from\nundue pressure to donate. Levine suggests verifying donor agency compliance\n(which is currently self-reported) or changing the format of advertisements.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003EIn a related commentary, John A. Robertson, of the\nUniversity of Texas, argues against greater regulation, and calls the current\nguidelines into question themselves. \u201cAfter all, we allow individuals to choose\ntheir mates and sperm donors on the basis of such characteristics,\u201d he writes. \u201cWhy\nnot choose egg donors similarly?\u201d\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp class=\u0022MsoNormal\u0022\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\n\n\n\n\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EMany egg donation agencies\nand private couples routinely exceed compensation recommendation limits for\npotential donors, a new study finds.\n\n\n\n\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Aaron Levine finds that many egg donation agencies routinely pay donors far more than guidelines allow."}],"uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2010-03-24 10:07:31","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:05:45","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2010-03-24T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2010-03-24T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"groups":[{"id":"1183","name":"Home"}],"categories":[{"id":"139","name":"Business"}],"keywords":[{"id":"8995","name":"clinics"},{"id":"8994","name":"donations"},{"id":"8992","name":"egg"},{"id":"8993","name":"in vitro"},{"id":"8996","name":"levine"},{"id":"767","name":"Policy"},{"id":"3448","name":"public"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}