Almost every women's restroom on a university campus is covered with advertisements for surrogacy and egg donation written in marker. This seemingly illogical practice has become a black market industry in China.
On April 29, 2020, it was revealed online that a surrogacy agency in Guangzhou had provided surrogacy services to gay men hundreds of times. Most of the surrogate mothers were young women in their 20s.
The organization refers to these surrogate mothers as "volunteer mothers" and the egg donors as "egg girls." This makes one wonder: can getting pregnant really make you a "volunteer"?
According to reports, there are over 400 surrogacy agencies in China, with fees ranging from 400,000 to 1.35 million yuan per case. Pricing is primarily based on a combination of factors, including appearance, health, and education level.
Current status of egg donation agencies
According to media reports, a girl named Tian Tian (pseudonym) who was studying event planning in Shanghai chose to donate her eggs when she was sixteen and unable to support herself financially.
She said she found a phone number online and called it directly. The agency told her to stay in Foshan and then have a medical examination and surgery in Guangzhou.
According to Tian Tian, the egg donation agency did not show any legal documents or sign any contract, but she was too young at the time and had no awareness of this matter.
"When I arrived in Guangzhou, they met with me and had me fill out some basic information. They said there was no problem and then they would help me find clients. I stayed at their house for about 5-6 days. Then my client came and said he was sure he wanted me. Then came the medical examination."
The media outlet also interviewed a Shanghai-based agency. The agency's representative said that before donating eggs, one must first go to the hospital to check the number of follicles on both sides, and then receive ovulation-inducing injections on the second day of menstruation, continuing for seven to ten days. Only mature follicles are retrieved, with a maximum of 12 eggs.
The agent claimed, "We only retrieve follicles from this cycle. Menstruation will return a few days after the retrieval, so it won't affect fertility. Safety is guaranteed. It's done by doctors from a public hospital, so it's very safe."
“The needle used for egg retrieval is about this long,” Tian Tian said, gesturing to her waist, “about two or three millimeters thick.”
When asked about the egg retrieval process, Tian Tian seemed to be in some pain and still scared. "I asked him how the eggs were retrieved, and they said there would be a surgery. I asked if the surgery was under general anesthesia or something, and he said the surgery wouldn't hurt."
Sweetie said, "But I wasn't given anesthesia. They didn't tell me any of the precautions before the surgery either. The first half of the procedure was so painful that I almost fainted."
"This thing (egg donation) is really too harmful to the body. The process is actually very painful. You have to get injections every day because they are injected into the ovary. Every day they have to pierce the muscle (outside the ovary)."
The agent told Tian Tian that there were professional doctors and a professional operating room, but when the surgery was actually performed, the doctor did not show his medical license, and the operating room was just in a residential building.
Afterwards, Tian Tian developed severe ascites, to the point where she was unable to walk. When she tried to hold the agency accountable, they refused to answer her calls and blocked her on WeChat, making it impossible to contact them. Since there was no contract beforehand, pursuing accountability was extremely difficult.
Unveiling the secrets of egg retrieval surgery
Just like Tian Tian mentioned above. In China, many young women who lack medical knowledge resort to egg donation due to poor economic conditions. They find the phone numbers of egg donation agencies online or on the walls of toilets, and willingly board the ship of unscrupulous agencies.
However, egg donation agencies will not tell you the truth about the procedure.
The needle is pierced through a hole in the vaginal wall and extended all the way to the ovary to extract the egg.
What immediate risks might be involved in the egg retrieval procedure alone? Let's look at some relevant content from an informed consent form for "Ultrasound-guided transvaginal ovarian aspiration egg retrieval" from a top-tier hospital—
In China, most egg retrieval procedures are performed in small workshops or residential buildings, with doctors sometimes not even showing their medical licenses throughout the entire procedure. The risks of such surgeries are self-evident.
Ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome
In addition to the risks during surgery, women who donate eggs also face the risk of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS).
A woman of normal reproductive age releases one mature egg each menstrual cycle.
For egg donors, ovulation induction injections, known as superovulation, are required before egg retrieval. This medication can induce a large number of follicles within one menstrual cycle.
The use of this medication can affect a woman's menstrual cycle and ovarian function. There is also a more serious consequence: ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
Due to the effects of ovulation induction injections, women will reach a state of high estrogen levels, which increases capillary permeability, causing ascites and pleural effusion, which in turn leads to hypoproteinemia, decreased blood pressure, hemoconcentration, reduced renal blood flow, oliguria, and electrolyte imbalance.
At this point, unscrupulous organizations will tell them, "Just drink more water to increase excretion and you'll be fine."
But in the end, her belly became so big that it bulged out when she lay down, making it impossible for her to walk. When she went to the hospital for a checkup, it turned out that she had two 10-centimeter-sized cysts and many small cysts in her ovaries.
Such cases are not uncommon in hospitals. West China Hospital of Sichuan University even has a dedicated department for patients with ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.
Many doctors on Weibo have also stepped forward to share the cases they have treated.
Surrogacy and egg donation are not only physiological issues, but also ethical issues that should be condemned.
This bloody and vile market exists because unscrupulous brokers openly price women's organs and reproductive functions; it is because some people want to have their own children and pay to buy eggs or hire surrogates that this market is so large; and it is because some girls, lacking medical knowledge, are tricked into surrogacy or egg donation for money, leading to so many tragedies…
Girls, please protect yourselves. Don't be tempted by money, and don't be deceived by lies.
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