Although the job market is stiffening, college students have one form of moneymaking they can always fall back on in desperate times: sperm and egg donation. In fact, college students are actually preferred specifically because of their age and education.
As more people are turning to unconventional ways to make money, sperm banks and fertility groups are finding the suffering economy beneficial to their number of donors, Northeast Assisted Fertility Group President Sanford Benardo said.
‘ ‘We have seen a 100 percent increase in our applications,’ he said. ‘It is double of what we used to have.’
Although donor programs market and advertise, the economy is pushing women to donate their eggs. Successful candidates receive $10,000 after the process is complete, Bernardo said.
‘Money is the driver,’ he said.
New England Cryogenic Center, Inc. sperm bank has also seen a donors increase, Sales Manager Maureen Burke said.’ However, she said she wasn’t sure the increase could solely be attributed to the economy.
‘There is a bit of an increase, but it’s tough to say if it’s the advertising we are doing or the overall economy,’ Burke said.
About 75 to 80 percent of the center’s donors are college students, Burke said.
The ideal egg donor has a good health history, is between the ages of 21 and 33 and has a college education, according to the Northeast Assisted Fertility Groups’ Web site. College students are often selected for egg programs because they are easily accessible, and they are educated, Bernardo said.’
‘ ‘College-educated people are more selected than uneducated candidates,’ he said. ‘The extra education makes them more appealing.’
In fact, a college education is required of potential donors, according to Burke. However, many people without college educations have been applying to be donors because of the troubling economy, she said.
Men are compensated $85 a visit and can come in twice a week, Burke said.’ Males typically come up to 40 times in a year, she said.
Women are compensated much more for eggs because of the difficult procedure and the amount of appointments and medications that are necessary, Bernardo said.
‘For $10,000 it’s no walk in the park,’ he said.
Egg donors spend about 60 hours in medical appointments, screenings and testing, according to Stanford University’s Egg Donor Information project website. The procedure, during which donors are conscious, involves the physician guiding a suctioning needle into the ovary.
Boston University College of Arts and Sciences freshman Ashley Simmons said she would donate eggs because she understands that some people are incapable of having children on their own
‘I would love to help someone have a child by donating my egg in the future,’ she said.
College of General Studies freshman Shristy Singh said she was not ethically against the procedure and would take advantage of the monetary compensation for her donation.
‘If I needed the money, I would do it,’ Singh said.
CGS freshman Alex Wolman said he would also be willing to donate sperm for money.
‘It is quick and easy,’ he said.
However, CAS freshman Richard Henderson said the thought of having unknown children that were technically half-his frightened him.
‘I wouldn’t want little Richards running around that I didn’t know about,’ he said. ‘It’s not cool.’
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