I recently read a beautifully written and perfectly balanced essay on donor compensation at: http://www.docshop.com/2007/11/13/miracle-or-madness-the-light-and-dark-sides-of-donating-eggs-for-money/. Often when clients first contact me they are concerned, perhaps even worried about the costs of family building through egg donation, even in my state of Massachusetts where often the clinical fees for the In Vitro Cycle, itself is covered by insurance. Of course, I start with explaining the ASRM Guidelines on ethical donation and what we, as an industry, have agreed through ASRM and SART to be appropriate compensation. Never do I speak in terms of compensation for eggs but rather, I advise my clients to consider as did Paul McLeod in his essay that donors are compensated for their commitment, time, effort and risk of undergoing an IVF on behalf of a third-party. We talk about the injections, we talk about the many clinic visits but we also talk about the consideration a young woman must give to sharing her genetics with a family w/whom she may never have any contact.

 I think donors deserve the compensation they receive and I firmly support the practice of donors setting their own compensation because, I understand after interviewing hundred of donors, that matters such as time and effort are certainly of relative value to each donor.

 Prospective Families takes this issue of donor compensation into consideration for much of our practice and policy making and I am delighted to read Mr. McLoed’s most appopriate perspective on this issue.