Paying the Rent by Selling Your Eggs

I’m not sure how much a man makes by donating his sperm but I think the going rate is somewhere around fifty dollars a pop, give or take.

A woman, however, can make thousands by donating a single egg.

I have read many ads in journals and magazines in my town, looking for women to donate their eggs. The pay range is anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000—certainly nothing to sneeze at.

According to CNN, “As the nation’s economy is slumping, some fertility clinics say interest in donating has surged.

“We are seeing an increase in inquiries but we’re not sure if it’s due to the economy or increased awareness,” said Dr. Susan Willman, a reproductive endocrinologist at the Reproductive Science Center of the Bay Area. Last July, the Reproductive Science Center received 120 calls inquiring about egg donation. This year that number jumped to 158 calls.

“We are so inundated right now,” Robin von Halle, president of Alternative Reproductive Resources, told CNN.

Von Halle said thirty to fifty inquiries a day from potential donors come in to her Chicago, Illinois, agency, which connects would-be parents with donors and surrogates. A year ago, it would have been ten to thirty, she said.

Talking to other people in the field has convinced von Halle that applications from potential donors are up “across the board.”