egg donor antitrust lawsuit

[Anonymous]

I've always wondered how the ASRM restrictions on egg donor compensation *aren't* an antitrust violation. So if the plaintiffs win this lawsuit, will the price of DE go up substantially?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/putting-a-price-on-a-human-egg-1437952456

[Anonymous]

Let it rise. I regret not selling my eggs for 60K back in college.

[Anonymous]

Because eggs aren't sold. You can't sell body parts. The women are compensated. And compensated nicely in many cases.

[Anonymous]

Gist of the article? Not all of us subscribe to WSJ.

[Anonymous]

It makes me angry and sad at the same time. It's going to raise the price further to make it even more out of reach for families that want children. It also establishes a gray area -- will some features or skin colors be valued more than others? Will the allure of life changing money "coerce" women into egg donation?

$5-10k is fair market rate. It's three weeks on medication and one out patient procedure. I've had 5 fresh cycles -- it sucks, but does it $50k suck? No. Isn't it called a donation not a sale?

It's completely voluntary - the plaintiff didn't need to do it and if she thought the fee was too low she could have gone to a broker and not a clinic. She made a bad business decision.

DH is an attorney and thinks the plaintiff may win. I could go on for days -in the end it's up to some judge and overpriced lawyers to figure it out.

[Anonymous]

Gist -- woman donated eggs. Found that ASRM/SART has recommendation guidelines for compensation of donors. Woman thought she was underpaid as this ASRM guideline "artificially price caps" compensation. Woman filed lawsuit against ASRM claiming Anti trust. It's now a partial class action suit (donors v. aSRM).

If Plaintiff wins, donor fees could go up as clinics compete for donors. Hence, DE prices may skyrocket. ASRM says they set guidelines to reduce exploitation, pay for medical/pain/suffering but not pay for the actual egg. Flat fees across the board prevent bias --/ aka if you are blonde you get$15k; brunette $10k. Or paying more for a donor who is capable of 30 eggs vs 15 eggs... Etc.

[Anonymous]

Price fixing is per se unlawful.

[Anonymous]

There's a backdoor into the WSJ article. Just google "putting a price on a human egg"

Also, NPR: http://www.npr.org/2015/07/27/426842589/donors-sue-fertility-industry-for-caps-on-egg-prices

[Anonymous]

I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

Your eggs are worth what people are willing to pay. If 5k is too late, then don't donate. You assume the ideal is blonde hair and blue eyes, which is a false assumption. I would pay more for the Harvard PhD, but the blonde hair is nothing g

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

Your eggs are worth what people are willing to pay. If 5k is too little, then don't donate. You assume the ideal is blonde hair and blue eyes, which is a false assumption. I would pay more for the Harvard PhD, but the blonde hair is nothing g

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

Your eggs are worth what people are willing to pay. If 5k is too little, then don't donate. You assume the ideal is blonde hair and blue eyes, which is a false assumption. I would pay more for the Harvard PhD, but the blonde hair is nothing g

Back in college people puts ads in our paying offering 100K for eggs of an athlete at our elite college, so the demand was there before the caps were instituted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

Yeah, something tells me your eggs aren't worth much if you're in a situation that you need to sell them for more than $5k. You are undoubtedly much less impressive than you are trying to make yourself sound.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

Yeah, something tells me your eggs aren't worth much if you're in a situation that you need to sell them for more than $5k. You are undoubtedly much less impressive than you are trying to make yourself sound.

You really think that 5K is worth it for all the hormone injections and possible risks? I make 5K a week, up the ante and I'll donate. Otherwise, no, not worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a PhD from HYP, blue eyes, division one athlete. You better believe my eggs - which are not a body part as they are shed every month - are worth more than other eggs. Same goes for any East Asian woman. There are very few Asian donors. Of the price were higher maybe more would donate. I, for one, would. I'm not donating for a paltry 5k. Not worth the medical risks at that price.

Yeah, something tells me your eggs aren't worth much if you're in a situation that you need to sell them for more than $5k. You are undoubtedly much less impressive than you are trying to make yourself sound.

Unless the recipient is a friend or relative, most "donors" are doing it for the money. I agree that $5-$10k isn't enough for someone well off to consider going through the hassle and potential long term risks.