Dangers involved in EGG DONATION all women must know

A woman who had read a recent article titled ‘Answering a distress call through egg and sperm donation’, has written to throw more some light on the consequences of egg donation, so that people are not lured by the cash attached to the invitation.

It is unfortunate that besides helping couples have children ‘by all means’, majority of fertility clinics here in Nigerian and all over, thrive financially on desperate couples looking for children.

To go through the procedure alone (which many times is unsuccessful and traumatising for the couples), one should be ready to pay hundreds of thousands of naira. I have no misgiving with the fertility clinics growing rich from anxious child-seeking couples, but strongly object to the fact of equating ‘egg donation to blood donation’ because there is no basis whatsoever for comparison.

Apart from the latter having no adverse consequences on the donor, (and might even be to his/her advantage as with those who have Polycythemia) and what’s more, it is given to save the life of the recipient. We cannot say the same for egg donation. The procedure for getting eggs from a woman is completely different. First, they have to stimulate the poor ovaries of the woman which should naturally produce an egg a month, to produce 30 to 50 eggs within a short duration of time. And how is this done? They place the unfortunate woman on a series of drugs and injections, which force the ovaries to produce more than it should and collect these eggs with a sharp object (which could perforate the bladder or any delicate organs around the ovaries) by making an incision on her stomach.

Many times, the women donating these ovaries actually lose their ovaries in the process through over stimulation and are unable to have their own children when they are ready. In fact, I will like to encourage all those thinking of donating their ovaries to watch the short video clip on YouTube on Eggs-ploitation. It’s a true life story of young girls who ignorantly donated/sold their ovaries with a good financial reward. One of them developed cancer and died some months after, as a result of the series of drugs and injections given to stimulate her ovaries. Another lost her ovary and might not be able to have her own children because her ovaries were over stimulated, while a third got partially paralysed on one part of her body. Another yet had her intestine perforated and had to do a major operation to correct the mistake made by the doctor. All the donors ended up very sick and spent almost all they had been paid for their eggs to regain their health!

These ladies never remained the same after donating their eggs but they were brave enough to speak up, in order to prevent others repeating their own mistakes – and they were all deceived into believing that the procedure had no adverse consequences.

I empathise with all women who cannot have children, but I think it inconsiderate to ask another person to put her life at risk just to satisfy the urge to have children who are not even biologically yours!

Is there any difference between this and adopting a child? Or is it just for the satisfaction of carrying a child for nine months and feeling the birth pangs associated with child bearing?

Meanwhile, the orphanage homes are overflowing with children in need of a family. This is really an irony. I think we should encourage couples to be more generous, and not to think of themselves only. Many times, God reward barren couples with their own children when they generously take the option of adoption. We make having children of our own look like a ‘do or die affair’, as if we will take the children with us when dying.

I am using this medium to warn young university students not to be lured by the financial rewards of egg donation and also to encourage barren couples to be more generous and open to adoption.

• Oseghale Omosefe, a teacher, wrote in from Benin City, Edo State Capital.