The new trends that seems to be catching on many young Nigerians is the donation of their ovaries and sperms to fertility centers to make quick cash, even as they help childless couples in the process. More than ever before, the number of young men and girls, most of whom are in the peak of their reproductive cycle with their age ranging between 21-32, willingly to donate their ovaries and sperm has been on the rise. A majority of them are single and working and want to donate eggs and sperms to get some extra money to maintain a good lifestyle.
What makes this a booming business for most of them is due to the fact that a lot of Nigerian couples are beginning to accept the accept the IVF technique as a last solution to their fertility problems. Most couples have beginning to except the idea that if someone else’s plump, youthful egg or sperm has a better shot, why not use it. So there has been a high demand for donor of ovaries and sperm lately.
Though you are made to believe that you are not selling your eggs, sperm or body and you are been compensated for your time and commitment, the compensation is indeed a highly rewarding one. All medical fees (the injections, doctor visits, counseling, medical exams, etc.) are paid for by the recipients, while donors also receive cash payment for their participation in a donor cycle. The sum varies depending on where you live and how good a candidate you are, the number of cycles (payment are made per cycle and not per egg) and others. The least payment is between N100, 000- N250, 000, per cycle but it’s higher than this in most cases considering the risk involved especially for the women.
Being an egg donor is much different than being a sperm donor for several reasons:
Sperm donors are men. They have an unlimited amount of sperm, and it's incredibly easy to donate that sperm (it just takes a hand and a magazine). That's why men are paid lesser than the women for participating in a sperm donation program.
The ideal donor must be men of normal average intelligence, ages should be between 18 and 45 years, healthy and free from genetic and infections such as HIV, Hepatitis, B & C, sexually transmitted disease and sickle cell disease, a college background, non-smoker and no history of drug abuse with good family health history.
Donors must have sperm counts of 400 million to 500 million, twice the norm. And most of these sperm must be faster than an ordinary sperm, more powerful than an ordinary sperm, able to leap tall Petri dishes in a single bound! Unfortunately it's super sperm for only one in four men.
Egg donors are women. Women have a limited number of eggs (several hundred) and to get the eggs, it is far more labor intensive than sperm donation and carries health risks. That's why women can make several thousand nairas for donating some eggs.
The female egg, or ovum, is 90,000 times bigger than the male sperm, so it's worth more.
The ideal donor must be women between the ages of 21-33 average height and within normal range, no smoking or drug use, previous delivery preferred (but not compulsory), healthy and free from genetic and infectious diseases such as HIV, Hepatitis, B & C and Syphilis, Genotype must be AA and Blood group with a positive rhesus, good educational background and good family health history, high level of responsibility to meet the requirement of the programme and willingness to complete one or more donation cycles.
According to a medical doctor, there is no harm in egg donation and it's a minor procedure. And donors can donate eggs after every two months.
"A woman produces one egg per month and they all get wasted. So in a way these girls are helping childless couples and in turn are getting a handsome amount," she said.
To stimulate the production of extra eggs -- say one or two dozen -- the donor is placed on hormone injections for weeks and the eggs are extracted under anesthesia with a needle. The process can cause ovarian hyper stimulation, which in rare cases can be life-threatening.
The donors have to undergo some medical tests and counseling before egg donation. Then the girls meet a counselor who tells them about the procedure of egg donation. They are then sent to a fertility expert for a complete medical checkup and finally to a psychologist.
On the first day, a fertility hormone is injected which increases the production of eggs. The hormone helps in the production of 10 to 12 eggs. Egg extraction takes place on the 14th day and during this period they have to visit the doctor every three days for medical tests. The girls are expected to stay in the hospital for four hours on the day the eggs are extracted.
The procedure for extracting eggs from the ovary requires no cuts or operation and donors are required to stay in the hospital for four hours. There are no major side effects of egg donation, but nausea, giddiness, constipation and headache remain for a few days.
And the interesting thing is that even if you are dropped from a program mid-way, maybe you do not respond adequately to the hormones or you are not producing enough eggs to be a feasible donor, you may receive partial compensation. Notably, ever since this money spinning business has been discovered, more Nigerian youths have been turning themselves in as it has become another fast alternative to make money.
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