Woman Donates Eggs for Rent Money

"The calls and Internet inquiries right now are astronomical. We're looking for specific donors between 21 and 29 years old, but a lot of these people are pushing that. They call and say, 'Well, I'm only 32.' In 50 phone calls, we might get one suitable donor," she said.

Chicago donors make $7,000 for their first donation and are allowed to donate up to six times.

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine, a nonprofit trade organization that represents reproductive health clinics and doctors, said it would be another two years before there was enough data to verify anecdotal reports that the economy is affecting donation rates.

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"There has certainly been an upward trend over the past 20 years in the number of donors," said Eleanor Nicoll, spokeswoman for the ASRM.

In 2005, the latest year for which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has data on egg donation, some 134,260 women had assisted reproductive procedures. Of those, 16,161 women, or 12 percent, received donated eggs. In 1995, there were 4,783 eggs used in 59,142 procedures, or 8 percent of the total.

"It stands to reason that women looking for a source of extra income would look to egg donation," ASRM's Nicoll said. "But just because there is increased attention expressed, doesn't mean there are more completed donations. This is not a simple or casual decision. There is first a medical and psychiatric evaluation and then what amounts to outpatient surgery."

She said on average donors make $7,000 to $10,000, with larger sums paid to women in wealthier regions of the country, such as the Northeast.

Dr. Dorothy Mitchell-Leef, an ob-gyn and partner at Reproductive Biology Associates in Atlanta, said she has seen a 20 to 25 percent increase in the number of women inquiring about donating in the past six months.

"We have certainly seen an uptick in the number of ladies coming to our seminars over the past six months coming to hear about programs and wanting to participate," she said.

Mitchell-Leef said many of the women expressing an interest in donation are graduate students or professionals, a shift from the undergraduates who typically looked to donate in the past.