New at Reason

David Weigel | September 28, 2006

The mysterious and beguiling Donor #15 enters the world of egg donation, fertility science, and gray markets, in Reason's October cover story.

Comments

Windypundit|9.28.06 @ 7:48AM|#

Donating eggs. So that's the kind of commitment it takes to get promoted to associate editor at Reason.

Tough corporate culture you've got there.

|9.28.06 @ 8:22AM|#

How many times would I need to spank in order to generate $10,000 worth of semen donations? I don't know how desirable my sperm is (on the one hand, 1590 SAT, on the other, 5'7"), but I should be able to get paid something. And I really don't find the idea of my having dozens of biological kids that I don't know about to be something that bothers me,

|9.28.06 @ 10:37AM|#

Windypundit, it isn't the tough corporate culture at Reason, it's the paltry wages they're paying that made her do it. I'm sorry it didn't take, Kerry is a pretty sharp cookie. We could use more like her.

|9.28.06 @ 11:02AM|#

My ex and I went through the egg donation routine a couple of times some years ago. My ex being one of the most ridiculously fertile women around, it seemed like a natural trade. She certainly had more eggs than she needed (At this time, she's given birth to 5 children) and we needed the money to help us raise the children she had.
I can vouch for the creepy anti-profit context of the fertility shops. It seemed to us that there was no shame in any of it, but the staff's unwillingness to discuss money openly really creeped us out.
I also noticed that the staff were unwilling to discuss the number of eggs that were harvested and what the fate of any extra eggs was going to be. It took a minor fit to get any straight answers despite our assurances that we didn't really care what happened with the eggs. Similar to what Kerry experienced, it was only through a complication that we were really clued in. Although in my ex's case, harvesting had to occur early as so many had come up.

Also, on the same topic, the August issue of Details (I read it at the gym, ok?) had an article on single men resorting to pregnancy outsourcing. A very cool article that raises some similar issues.

|9.28.06 @ 11:07AM|#

BTW, this article makes 3 by Kerry that I have read from start to finish and truly enjoyed in the short time that she has been at Reason.

Perhaps she is associate editor because she deserves to be?

In other words, suck it windypundit.

|9.28.06 @ 11:24AM|#

Really interesting article.
I would've been a little freaked out about this, though:

When I woke up outside the operating room, I asked the doctor how many of the 12 he�d taken. Pleading confidentiality issues, he said only, �I can�t tell you.�


...but that's only because I demand straight answers about basically everything, but especially regarding any medical procedures I'd undergo.

I think Kerry's eggs are worth well more than 10,000, anyway. (I hope that doesn't sound too gay.)

|9.28.06 @ 11:42AM|#

Herrick--that is why sperm ain't worth shit on the market--for men it's not big deal.

Heck if men got $10K a load most men would be billionares.

|9.28.06 @ 11:47PM|#

So that's Kerry Howley on the cover of the October issue? I knew it!