July 8, 2013 — Egg donation is now one of the major reasons why couples travel abroad for fertility treatment. Because this growing trend may circumvent regulations at home or raise concerns about financial inducement, it has also become one of the most controversial. Yet little is known about the women who provide the donor eggs in overseas clinics -- their characteristics, their motivation and their compensation.
A study performed by ESHRE, which surveyed (by questionnaire) 1423 egg donors at 60 clinics in 11 European countries, has now found that the majority of donors are keen to help infertile couples for altruistic reasons, but a large proportion also expect a personal benefit, usually financial.(1,2)
The study was performed during 2011 and 2012 by ESHRE's Task Force on Cross-border Reproductive Care and European IVF Monitoring Consortium, with the results presented today by the chairman of the Task Force, Professor Guido Pennings of the Bioethics Institute Ghent, Belgium. The donor's age proved an important factor in her motivation to donate. While the overall average age of the donors in this study was relatively young (27.4 years, ranging from 25.6 in Spain to 31 years in France), there was a significant effect of age on altruistic motives: 46% of the donors under 25 noted altruism alone as their motive compared to 79% of those over 35; 12% of those under 25 were purely financially motivated compared to 1% of those older than 35. The younger you are, apparently, the more is money a motivation.
Among the donor groups identified in the study population were:
How much do donors get? The amounts varied greatly throughout Europe -- from zero in France to 2000 euro in Belgium, with most countries noting sums between 500 and 1000 euro.
These sums were recalculated as purchasing power in individual countries -- for example, multiplied by four in Ukraine or two in Russia to assess their real value. "In these countries egg donation may be very attractive to unemployed or poor women," said Professor Pennings.
For its final analysis, the study divided the motives for donation into five groups: pure altruism (helping infertile people, a family member or a friend), altruism and financial in combination, purely financial, altruism and for one's own treatment (as in egg sharing), and purely for one's own treatment. For all donors, results showed that:
A study performed by ESHRE, which surveyed (by questionnaire) 1423 egg donors at 60 clinics in 11 European countries, has now found that the majority of donors are keen to help infertile couples for altruistic reasons, but a large proportion also expect a personal benefit, usually financial.(1,2)
The study was performed during 2011 and 2012 by ESHRE's Task Force on Cross-border Reproductive Care and European IVF Monitoring Consortium, with the results presented today by the chairman of the Task Force, Professor Guido Pennings of the Bioethics Institute Ghent, Belgium. The donor's age proved an important factor in her motivation to donate. While the overall average age of the donors in this study was relatively young (27.4 years, ranging from 25.6 in Spain to 31 years in France), there was a significant effect of age on altruistic motives: 46% of the donors under 25 noted altruism alone as their motive compared to 79% of those over 35; 12% of those under 25 were purely financially motivated compared to 1% of those older than 35. The younger you are, apparently, the more is money a motivation.
Among the donor groups identified in the study population were:
- Students (18% in Spain, 16% Finland, 13% Czech Republic)
- Unemployed (24% in Spain, 22% Ukraine, 17% Greece)
- Fully employed (75% in Belgium, 70% Poland, 28% Spain)
- Single women (50%+ in Spain and Portugal, 30% Greece)
How much do donors get? The amounts varied greatly throughout Europe -- from zero in France to 2000 euro in Belgium, with most countries noting sums between 500 and 1000 euro.
These sums were recalculated as purchasing power in individual countries -- for example, multiplied by four in Ukraine or two in Russia to assess their real value. "In these countries egg donation may be very attractive to unemployed or poor women," said Professor Pennings.
For its final analysis, the study divided the motives for donation into five groups: pure altruism (helping infertile people, a family member or a friend), altruism and financial in combination, purely financial, altruism and for one's own treatment (as in egg sharing), and purely for one's own treatment. For all donors, results showed that:
- 46% were motivated by pure altruism
- 32% by altruism and financial combined
- 10% were purely financial
- 5% motivated by altruism and own treatment
- and 2% by treatment alone