Selling yourself — broke students look to donation for profit, fun and that warm fuzzy feeling

Katharine Miller, junior communication major, donated plasma to pay off her credit card debt. Miller donated twice before she decided her time and effort were not worth the compensation.

“I had a bad experience with the people that worked at the center who wouldn’t listen to me when I told them I was going to get sick,” Miller said.

Plasma, sperm and egg donation have become common ways for individuals to supplement their income. The benefits, procedures, financial compensation and risk factors—both medically and emotionally—differ greatly depending on type of tissue being donated.

According to Dr. Vincent Serio, director of Medical Services at Boise State Health and Recreation, plasma donation has minimal risks and is a relatively safe way for students to earn money.

“The most common side effect would be fatigue. You lose a pint of blood or plasma and you probably don’t want to go out and play football for Boise State,” Serio said.

Linda Alexander, egg donor coordinator at Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, explained that unlike selling plasma, eggs are not sold but donated, and the egg donation process is entirely different. Donors are compensated for their time and effort, not their reproductive tissues.

“People who sell their plasma generally need to make some quick cash or buy books for school. They can walk into a clinic and if they qualify can be hooked up to a machine. It’s a quick turn around time,” she said.

The egg donation process includes medical and psychological evaluations, attorney meetings, ultrasounds, blood work, self-administered injections, fertility drugs and surgical egg retrieval.

According to Alexander, it can take up to one year for a donor to be matched to prospective parents. Once a match is made, the medical donation process takes approximately one month.

“It is not dropping something off, but is a commitment to a greater cause,” Alexander said.

Risk factors involved with egg donation include bleeding, ovarian hyper-stimulation, bloating and mood changes. Additionally, the surgical egg-retrieval process comes with the risk of infection and risks associated with anesthesia.

“Sperm donation is different,” Serio said. “There are not a whole lot of risks associated with that, but the big thing, the elephant in the room, is am I going to have someone genetically related to me walking around the earth … is there going to be an emotional connection?”

Similar emotional issues arise from egg donation. Aryonna Richard, junior English major, said even with substantial financial compensation she would not feel comfortable donating her eggs.

“You don’t always know how you’ll feel about it when you’re older. It’s still your child and someone’s life, so you should think about it as more than just a quick fix,” Richard said.

With higher emotional and medical risk factors associated with egg and sperm donation, medical professionals agree money should not be the only motivating factor for donation.

“There are definite economic rewards, but it needs to be a spiritual desire with financial rewards as secondary,” Alexander said.

Many clinics implement mandatory screening to weed out those only looking to attain financial gain.

According to the CDC, 10 percent of women in the U.S. have issues with fertility. Alexander seeks donors motivated by a genuine desire to help others.

“A lot of the procedures are painful and have risks. I think it’s totally appropriate to compensate someone for that chunk of their lives that they are really giving to another person. There should be another factor in there that motivates you. The money should just be there as something for your inconvenience,” Serio said.

According to Alexander, donation is a win-win situation for students.

“I want to hear that the compensation for their time and effort is being used to better them,” she said. “I want to hear that they’re furthering their education.

Short URL: http://arbiteronline.com/?p=80463

Posted by tabithabower on Feb 6 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.