Black Market Fertility Drug Trade Grows, Despite Risks

Nov. 28, 2005 — -- Michelle and Craig Stukus struggled for years to have a baby.

"It puts a strain on your marriage," said Michelle. "It puts a strain on you emotionally, physically, mentally."

The couple spent $28,000 on fertility treatments, maxing out their credit cards and mortgaging their home.

So when Michelle met a woman on an Internet chatroom who offered her leftover fertility drugs, she seized the opportunity.

"We were desperate," she said, "and we took that chance."

Thousands of women across the country are now trading or buying fertility drugs from other patients via the Internet.

"It's happening with increasing frequency simply because it's available and the availability to connect these other fertility patients is very, very easy," said fertility specialist Dr. Judith Albert. "There is a very serious danger here. The drugs could be tampered with, they could be not stored properly, they could be contaminated. You can't just take someone else's prescribed drug. You could get sick or die."

Women are taking the risk because fertility treatments are expensive. The cost of the most effective treatment, in vitro fertilization, is about $10,000. The drugs used in the process can add another $4,000 -- and that's just for one attempt.

Most people's insurance does not cover the treatment. Only a few states -- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut -- have mandates requiring insurance companies to cover the cost of fertility treatments. Advocacy groups are trying to change that.

"Infertility is a disease and it should be covered by insurance," said Pamela Madsen, executive director and founder of the American Fertility Association.

Over the Internet, women are finding leftover drugs on their own at a significant discount. It took an ABC News team just minutes to find six Web sites that sold the drugs. One site had 135 people either selling or looking to buy fertility drugs last month alone.

For instance, a dose of an injectable hormone that costs $700 at a pharmacy was selling for just $200 online.

Patient-to-patient drugs sales are illegal, although prosecution of those trades in fertility drugs is rare.

The Food and Drug Administration warned in a written statement today that "consumers have no assurance that the drug is what it is. It could be watered down or even counterfeit. It's a buyer beware situation."

Michelle Stukus says she was aware of the danger in buying from a stranger.

"I prayed that she stored them correctly and wasn't some psycho out there that was trying to sabotage," she said. "It's a risk you take."

The Stukuses now have healthy twins, but they still warn others not to take the risk.

ABC News' Gigi Stone filed this report for "World News Tonight."