Editor's Note: According to China's Ministry of Health, the giving (as a present) or supplying of unfertilized eggs in any commercialised form is strictly prohibited. Unsurprisingly, for couples dealing with infertility, regulations haven't stopped them from trying to start a family, thus planting the seeds for a burgeoning "unfertilized egg black market" to develop in Beijing (and likely throughout China). A few months ago, a reporter from the Beijing News went undercover, posing as a Beijing university student to expose this deceptive underground market.

Source: bjnews

Inside a coffee shop, ten young girls, from several of Beijing's top universities, sit and wait, while clients (mostly middle-aged couples), carefully look over each of them. The clients are very picky – even single eyelids on a girl is a deal breaker. One of the clients, a woman wearing a fur coat and carrying an LV bag, paces back and forth looking at the girls. Although they are only separated by a few metres, clients are not permitted to talk to the girls; an "agent" passes on the client's inquiries, such as the girl's height, blood type or hobbies. This is a typical sales meeting in Beijing's "egg donor" market.

Looking for donors at Beijing's top universities       

On Beijing Normal University's "Egg Network", one message reads: "Seeking a compassionate egg donor, 20,000 RMB nourishment fee." On a Beijing Jiaotong University forum, two Academy of Fine Arts graduates offer to sell their eggs for 30,000 RMB. Recently, a report for the Beijing News noticed these types of ads—buying and selling eggs—on all of Beijing's campus forums. On August 3rd, on Renrenwang, under the "Beijing University students part-time jobs and internship" section, someone posted the following: "Urgently looking for Tsinghua University girls to donate their eggs." The post required candidates to be at least 163 cm tall, have double eyelids, and paid 30,000 RMB. The post particularly emphasised "If you are not a student at Tsinghua, please don't respond." The reporter contacted one of these posters via QQ, and learned that in order to be a donor, one had to fill out a form with a number of personal details, including height, blood type, period schedule and also send a picture of their ID card and student ID.

5,000 RMB "Nourishment Fee"; no contract

These "pay for egg" agencies are very common online. In mid-October, the reporter randomly picked a Beijing-based agency online. The agency's name, "Sunshine Surrogate Network", and its by-line, "helping families nationwide with infertility problems and female students with financial difficulties", made it sound more like a charity than an illegal service. The reporter contacted this agency, expressed interest in being a donor, and learned that it had been running for seven years, providing clients with such services as surrogacy, egg donation, contacting the hospital, handling the birth certificate and paternity testing.

After applying to be a donor and passing the first test, the reporter was informed about the entire "egg donation" process: After being chosen by a client, the donor receives a physical examination, and upon passing receives injections to release the egg, and then finally undergoes an operation to remove the egg. The agent, "Li", with whom the reporter was in contact with, referred to "donors" as "volunteers", and "payment" as "nourishment fee", but refused to sign any contract with the donor, as to "ensure the volunteer's security and privacy", since the process is illegal. The "nourishment fee" is paid after the operation, and is generally about 5,000 RMB (not 20,000-30,000 RMB). The reporter, citing money troubles, immediately proceeded to the next step: meeting the clients.

Meeting the clients

On October 22nd, the reporter met Li at a KFC in Haidian District. From there, they went to a nearby cafe in a hotel, where the reporter was told to wait. During the next few minutes, Li disappeared a few times coming back with another 20-something girl each time. Shortly after, the clients arrived. She noticed that the clients were all middle-aged couples. The couples quietly watched the girls, occasionally whispering something to each other. An agent was stationed at each client's table, helping them look over each girl's "stats". The agents shuttled between the clients and the girls, asking them questions about their height, blood type, hobbies, etc.

Under the cold gaze of the clients, the "volunteers" did nothing – some played games on their phone, others just stared blankly. During the meeting, Li snapped a photo of the reporter with his phone, saying that the client needed a photo. All of the photos on his phone were of young girls. At 15:00, the clients and the girls left. The reporter was informed that she wasn't chosen because of her single-fold eyelids.

Meeting No. 2; weird requirements

On October 29th, the reporter was invited to another meeting, which was held at a different cafe, and featured 20 "volunteers" for the 30+ clients (which had to pay a 300 RMB cover) to look over. Listening in on the agent-client conversations, she overheard a wide variety of unusual client requirements. Many were looking for girls from certain universities, or who had fair skin. Two clients, who themselves had single-fold eyelids, specifically asked for girls with double eyelids. Some wanted girls with blood type B or O, but not Type A (to prevent the child from discovering that they weren't related to both parents). A client from northwest China wanted a southern girl, as to reduce the probability that their child would accidentally marry a close relative.

A middle-aged woman walked slowly toward the reporter and looked at her for 15 minutes without saying a word. She was wearing a fur coat, an LV bag, a pearl necklace and dark red lipstick. The middle-aged woman went over to the agent, and a short while later, Li reaffirmed the reporter's blood type, age and origin via SMS. Two days later Li called to tell her that she had been selected, and that they would arrange for a medical examination shortly. He told her to consume a lot of soymilk and other high-protein foods before the exam, and requested that she not go to bed too late.

Intermediary escorts donor to physical examination

On November 1st, the reporter contacted the agent to arrange the medical examination. On November 2nd, the agent escorted the reporter to a public hospital in the Jiandemen area. "Once we get to the hospital, you will only respond to the name "Zhang Yu", Li urged repeatedly. At the hospital someone helped her register, so she didn't need any physical examination documents. Li told her that patients at the reproductive centre have the right to their privacy, so it's possible to receive treatments under a fake name. Once inside the reproductive centre, the reporter recognised four or five other girls. The agents there each had their own duties: one took care of the paper work, one stood watch at the west entrance and the others accompanied the "volunteers" into the exam.

Prior to her turn to undergo a physical examination, the reporter asked to use the restroom and slipped out of the hospital. A few minutes later, Li began calling her phone multiple times and sent her text messages asking what was wrong and criticising her for being irresponsible. On November 4th, Li threatened her on QQ, saying, "I'll get you kicked out of school", "you don't know who you're messing with. I'll make sure you get nothing", also sending her four pictures of bloody knives…

It's a scam…

While posing as an egg donor, the reporter also set up aliases with the same agency, both as a client looking for a donor and as a surrogate. During their QQ conversations, the agency sent her a "related costs" document. The document listed the egg donation and the surrogacy-related expenses, as well as the fees for the hospital, the donor and the surrogate. According to the document, clients generally pay the agency 50,000-100,000 RMB: 8,000 RMB agency fee, 40,000-80,000 RMB to the egg donor and 10,000 to the hospital. Surrogate service costs 20,000 RMB extra.

Yet, the reporter's investigation showed that the donor is only paid 5,000 RMB. And if the physical examination, injections and surgery at the hospital only cost 8,000 RMB, then where is the rest of the money going…

The dangers of illegally donating eggs

Although the agency reassured the "volunteers" that the procedure wasn't dangerous, the deputy director of the Gynaecology Department at Peking University's Children's Hospital says that there are many risks and complications that can result from these kinds of illegal egg retrieval operations. Further, young women who frequently have this procedure done face the possibility of early menopause. Worse, as these operations are done illegally, if something were to go wrong, the "volunteer" would be unable to file a medical malpractice suit.

Should China establish a (legal) "egg bank"?

According to one expert, about 10% of Chinese women are infertile, but it's very difficult to get eggs donated through legal channels: "China should expand the scope of its egg donors…we should copy the sperm bank model and establish an egg bank." Conversely, another expert says that many infertile women can be treated with drugs or undergo operations, so an egg bank is unnecessary. In 2004, First Affiliated Hospital of Peking University experimented with establishing an egg bank, but because egg donors were too few, and egg-freezing technology was inferior, the project was called off. Egg donations are much more complicated than sperm donations; eggs are more difficult to preserve, and there aren't enough donors. At the same time, there is also a concern relating to ethical issues surrounding an egg bank.

In light of this growing problem and the lack of comprehensive laws, regulations and systems management, China needs to act fast.
 

Source: bjnews

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Keywords: Beijing black market student egg donors China illegal egg donors China establish egg bank Beijing infertile couples use the black market