The numbers in our group are growing so please, if you are on facebook, consider joining the group AND inviting your network to join us.  I’lve received the ads that facebook is running from four different people now – thank you all for sending them to me since this is what the facebook complaint department has asked for.

Here is a piece my daughter Katy wrote, regarding the one ad on facebook from EliteDonors.com If you aren’t on facebook you can read it here:
Amongst the weight loss, cellulite reduction, online dating, and hair removal advertisements featured in the margins of my Facebook account, there have been an increasing amount of advertisements requesting college-age egg donors. With an alluring compensation of $100,000, I couldn’t help but click on the ad. The ad took me directly to a site called “Elite Donors: Creating Happy Families”, a site that recruits egg donors for infertile couples for the purpose of In Vitro Fertilization into the female client or surrogate. The site was plastered with photos of smiling babies and mothers, all with blond hair, blue eyes and perfect white teeth.
Intrigued to determine whether or not I have “elite” status, I searched their criteria for an eligible donor. The standards were as follows:
1. Height 5’9″ or taller: You may apply if you are shorter, but it helps to have family members who are 5’9″ or taller.
2. Caucasian: Check back in the future if you are a different heritage.
3. Very Attractive: Modeling experience is a plus, but not required.
4. Must Be 18-28 Years Old.
5. Proven Intelligence: We are looking for a donor who has graduated from a top 100 four-year college.
6. Athletic Ability: Looking for a donor who has a history of participating in athletics or dance. Playing or performing at a college or professional level is ideal.
7. No Genetic Medical Issues: This criterion is absolute.

So I’m thinking, 1-check, 2-check, 3-uh maybe if I did my make-up just right, 4-check, 5-Cal is top 100 right?, 6-check, 7-I’m healthy. So, what if I was one inch shorter, am I not “elite”? If I was Latina, or African American, would I only be worth $50,000? I don’t have a 4.0 GPA, but maybe they’d be willing to still give me $75,000 for my eggs. I’d feel bad if they had to pay full price for a stupid baby.

Then I looked at the actual application. Questions pertaining to criterion 7 got a bit more detailed: Have you ever seen a therapist? Have you any allergies? List any surgical procedures. Well…when I was born I needed eye surgery. Just a minor procedure, nothing big. I think they’d still be willing to pay $50,000.

The questions continued: Do you wear prescription glasses? What is your current weight? Is anyone in your family obese? At this point, I started to get a little skiddish about my weight. I mean, they’re looking for a very attractive athlete or dancer, they don’t usually weigh a whole lot. I could always lose 15lbs and then re-apply, or I could apply as-is and maybe they’d settle for $25,000. I mean, no one could love a chubby kid, right?

Have you ever worn braces? Oh great. I was metal mouth from 8th to 9th grade. The left side of my jaw is slightly bigger than my right, so I needed two years of corrective alignment. No one would ever notice this asymmetry, but I guess if you look hard enough for a flaw, you will find it. After reading this last question, I realized I probably wouldn’t qualify for Elite Donors. Would you?

I guess if these are the standards by which one measures women, we’re not worth a whole lot, are we? Be more than what someone is willing to pay for you: protest egg donation advertisements on Facebook today.

Here is the ad:

Author Profile

Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, CBC Founder
Jennifer Lahl, MA, BSN, RN, is founder and president of The Center for Bioethics and Culture Network. Lahl couples her 25 years of experience as a pediatric critical care nurse, a hospital administrator, and a senior-level nursing manager with a deep passion to speak for those who have no voice. Lahl’s writings have appeared in various publications including Cambridge University Press, the San Francisco Chronicle, the Dallas Morning News, and the American Journal of Bioethics. As a field expert, she is routinely interviewed on radio and television including ABC, CBS, PBS, and NPR. She is also called upon to speak alongside lawmakers and members of the scientific community, even being invited to speak to members of the European Parliament in Brussels to address issues of egg trafficking; she has three times addressed the United Nations during the Commission on the Status of Women on egg and womb trafficking.