Injections to ensure success
According to an article in The Economist, egg donations involve a long and complicated series of procedures. Before they even arrive at a clinic to make their donations, women must inject themselves for three weeks with medication. After that, they are called in to give blood samples and undergo vaginal ultrasound tests. Then, on the day of donation, they undergo an uncomfortable extraction procedure which involves a very long needle and punctured ovaries.
In China's black market, student donors are asked to take good care of themselves before taking medical examinations, and must contact egg brokers immediately when their period arrives. Once, a girl did not pass her medical examination, causing an enraged broker to threaten her reputation at the university if she did not take better care of herself.
A sound physical condition is very important before egg retrieval, and girls must also take injections for eight days to boost fertility. After they are well prepared, the girls receive an operation to retrieve the eggs. In the best cases, it takes a day to recover; in the worst, they end up in the hospital.
A law with no teeth
Xue Qing, associate chief physician at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the First Hospital of Peking University, warned that illegal egg retrieval involves many hormone drugs to restrain ovarian activity. Together with the injections that boost fertility, they simulate the ovaries and tend to trigger complications – and sometimes even lead to serious health problems.
Experts say that without a contract, university students cannot be protected and are putting their health at risk. Once there is medical negligence, it is difficult for them to stand up for their rights.
Some doctors, lawyers and would-be parents are asking why there is a ban on the black market egg trade if there is no intent to enforce it. They say the government should consider either establishing a national ovum bank, or prohibit the trade with intensified efforts.
