The price of a human egg depends on the characteristics of the donor. Eggs harvested from white college students can sell for as much as $100,000. But there’s a cheaper way to get them.
The Global Egg Trade
Published September 20, 2010
Since in vitro fertilization was introduced three decades ago, the market for women's eggs has exploded; each year, a quarter of a million "test tube" babies are born. Donor eggs come from all over the world, often from women in poor financial circumstances. Wide differences in price and poor regulation over donations have created an international black market for eggs. Some doctors and companies are making a lot of money helping families who can afford it to find eggs and have babies.
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Scott Carney speaks about his reporting on the sale of human eggs on The Leonard Lopate Show.
Feminist radio show The Majority United speaks with Scott Carney to understand the impact of black market adoption deals and genetic and body part trading on women.
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Grantee
Scott Carney combines anthropology with long-form investigative journalism. He is a contributing editor for WIRED magazine and his work also appears in Mother Jones, NPR, Fast Company...
