NEW YORK—More than one-third of American women who have anonymously donated their eggs say they would not do so again, according to researchers.
"This may be one of the reasons that the need for donors out-paces the availability of donors," said Dr. Susan Caruso Klock of Northwestern University in Chicago.
Klock and her colleagues gave questionnaires to 52 women in a major urban center who had donated at least one egg in the 3 to 18 months leading up to the study. Such eggs are typically used by women struggling with infertility.
The women were asked about their frame of mind both prior to and after making their donations, as well as their attitudes regarding both the negative and positive aspects of their experience in so doing.
The researchers note that the typical respondent was 27, single, white, college-educated, and had been pregnant at least once before making the donation.
Nearly half, they observed, had decided to become an egg donor after considering the idea for just one month. Almost 30 percent went forward with the process after a two to three month period, while the remainder took between four months to a year to make a decision.
According to the report the June issue of Fertility and Sterility, Klock and her colleagues found that 44 percent of the women say they were "very satisfied" with their donation experience. However, 37 percent said they would not be willing to donate again. Another 35 percent said they would be willing to do so, while 28 percent were not certain either way.
All of the women felt that donors should receive some financial compensation for their effort -- despite the fact that 77 percent also said the act of helping another woman was an important motivation for becoming an egg donor.
Klock and her colleagues noted that 44 percent of the women had received $5000 as compensation, while 16 percent received $3500, 16 percent received $3000, and 23 percent received between $2000 and $2500.
"Only 11 percent of donors stated that they would be willing to donate without compensation," Klock told Reuters Health. "Although many people in and out of the field of reproductive medicine have concerns about compensation levels for egg donors, this finding appears to reinforce the idea that the availability of donors would dramatically decrease if compensation was not provided," she cautioned.
Klock also expressed concern that the short amount of time many women had spent initially considering donation may be insufficient -- perhaps contributing to disappointment with the rigors of the process and a future reluctance to do so again.
"This was surprising to us and we were concerned that this may not be a long enough period of time to fully contemplate all of the long-term implications of donation," she said.
SOURCE: Fertility and Sterility 2003;79:1312-1316.
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