Concerned about the image of "highest bidder" reproductive services promoted online, Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill., is in clarification mode. It is pitching the
media about the "true face of egg donation" that contradicts recent reports about cash-obsessed women on the Internet offering their eggs for thousands of dollars.
Egg donation is a sensitive, emotionally-charged issue for women who need the service to become pregnant. It's important for hospitals and clinics to seize opportunities to
educate the media about this complicated area of women's medicine. (Also, see HPRMN's article on clarifying infertility success rates in the Feb. 3 issue.)
Lutheran General positioned itself as a reliable source for information about egg donation, emphasizing that legitimate egg donors do not "sell" their eggs. It provided a fact
sheet to the media about how egg donation is performed, highlighting key information like:
- women age 21 to 32 are recruited through advertising in local and college papers;
- they complete a detailed questionnaire regarding physical characteristics, family background and social/genetic history; and
- all parties sign legal consent forms.
(Lutheran General Hospital, Marcia Hilse, 847/998-8200)