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Fertility Resources is sponsored by Growing Generations, the pioneering Los Angeles based agency which virtually invented current gestational surrogacy practices for traditional and non-traditional families. Growing Generations also owns and operates a straightforward fertility practice, Fertility Futures, which supports an egg donor and database as well as a program to match intended parents with surrogates, and a single purpose surrogacy agency, Surrogate Web, which screens and qualifies women who are willing to become surrogate moms, before they are matched with intended parents.

Articles on Fertility & Assisted Reproduction

Mitigating Risks in Assisted Reproduction Procedures

Recently, an article appeared in the New York Press, entitled “The Baby Factory” about the experiences of a young woman attending Columbia. The article can be read here and we recommend it wholeheartedly.

Jill Colvin describes herself as a feminist. She frequently saw ads soliciting egg donors, and began to wonder why whe shouldn't consider becoming a donor – especially in light of a potential $8000 payday. The article describes her experience in compelling terms.

Jill kept repeating on thing however: the risks. Here are some quotes from the article. “‘How much do you think someone should fairly be compensated for eight weeks of work?” asks Dr. David Barad, the director of Assisted Reproductive Technology at the Center for Human Reproduction—especially when such work involves anesthesia, injections and medical risks. ‘I don’t think it’s fair to ask someone to do something like that for free.’” and “I was informed of the potential medical risks,” and “The risks were frightening, with potentially devastating consequences.”

What Jill was apparently unaware of is the fact that her medical insurance company might deny claims arising from complications. In fact, several large medical insurers are routinely denying claims arising from egg donation procedures because egg donors are knowling putting themselves into risky sutuations, situtaions with known higher than average risks.

Because of the choice involved, the denials of claims are not only prudent but are justifiable. What the insurance industry taketh away, however, the insurance industry also giveth. Lloyds of London has created policies to specifically cover the risks associated with egg donation (and another policy covering surrogacy risks) so that inadequate insurance need not be a cause for denial of medical services. We beleive that all egg donors should be aware of these policies, and should demand that one be in place BEFORE they undergo any egg donation related procedure as part and parcel of their agreement to donate eggs.

The Lloyds Egg Donor Policy is available in the United States through New Life Agency, and includes medical expense coverage, accidental paralysis coverage and accidental death coverage. Indeed the risks are not small, but with good coverage available, we believe every egg donation enterprise and organziation should require that their clients who want oocytes provide this coverage to their chosen donor.