Less Money Means More Egg Donors

Oct. 27, 2008 — -- Bethany Grinstead is a very fertile stay-at-home mother of five young children. The 26-year-old says her good fortune with fertility is helping her make money as an egg donor.

"I'm very passionate when it comes to kids and being able to help my family financially as well was another motivating factor," Grinstead said of being an egg donor.

Good genes and looks have made Grinstead a valued donor. She has already donated twice, and made $5,000 each time. The first time she produced 18 eggs, the second time 22. Some donors make up to $10,000 each time they donate.

As she prepares for her third donation, she said the shaky economy is very much on her mind.

"My boyfriend is in real estate, and with the housing market the way it has been, we do struggle," she said. "But I want to stay at home with my kids. The kids are growing up, and we'll need [the money] for college and stuff."

Doctors and others in the fertility industry say they're seeing a dramatic uptick not just in new donors but, as with Grinstead, in repeat donors looking to pay the bills.

"I have been involved in the reproduction industry since 1990, and I have never seen this kind of an increase in the number of applications with eggs, sperm donors or surrogates," said Cathy Ruberto, a registered nurse who owns a fertility clinic in Naples, Fla.

Fertility experts across the country have reported a 30 to 40 percent increase in applicants. But there is concern that the spike may inspire a decline in standards for donors.

Nancy Block, a registered nurse at the Center for Egg Options in El Segundo, Calif., says there are also very few standards in the industry.

"It's important that there's some standards set for egg-donor recruiters," Block said. "Anyone can get a business license to do egg donor recruiting."

Her organization is calling for a national registry to protect the rights of the unborn child. Medical records about the donor are only kept for 10 years, for instance, depriving children of information about their medical and genetic inheritance down the road.