To tell you the Scottish Govt are targeting 18 year old girls for egg harvesting

[VestaTilley]

Yes, really.

Surrogacy Concern broke the news on Friday night. I can’t actually believe it.

Over a month to come, the Scottish Govt are asking for egg and sperm donors as young as 18 to come forward in a series of targeted ads on social media and the radio. They’ve expanded IVF provision and - in their own words - have a supply and demand issue.

I’d heard of fertility clinics advertising (bad enough in my view) but for a national Govt to do this to women is staggering. Women can die from complications arising from OHSS, which can be caused by egg donation. A British woman died in 2006 as a result.

The ads don’t mention these risks; it’s all “be kind” “do something amazing”. I cannot actually believe a Govt could be this stupid. They’ve only just apologised for forced adoption!

AIBU?

Under 18 recruits to the British Army do NOT see any action in conflict zones. They are in training until then.

I honestly don’t understand the fury about this advertising campaign. My only concern about it is that it must have cost a lot to run, and is probably not going to achieve much.

Egg donation is a massive undertaking, and it will be made clear to anyone interested what a commitment it is, and what the risks are. We have no reason to think the medics will lie to volunteers about the dangers. I think very few people will even get as far as making an enquiry, and probably no one will actually go through with it.

The vast vast majority of egg donors in this country are women going through fertility treatment themselves, who choose to donate half their eggs during an IVF cycle. This is altruistic on the NHS, and brings about a payment reduction in the private sector.

If people don’t want to donate, then they should just ignore the adverts.

Why is there nothing on the website (eggsandsperm.scot, catchy) about the risks?

I’d heard of fertility clinics advertising (bad enough in my view) but for a national Govt to do this to women is staggering.

It's their way of keeping the population that they're currently attempting to sterilise going.

I find that abhorrent too.

I assume it would be discussed in detail at an appointment, but I agree there should be some information published about the risks.

Yes it is, and Law Commission proposals for surrogacy law include lifting the current ban on advertising for surrogate mothers.
Wait until there is a free for all on that.

And of course those of us in older age groups don't see these adverts as they are targeted via social media. My daughter has had them drop into her Instagram from an egg bank. Now the government (in Scotland) is doing it.

Ffs, we’d be better off under Sharia Law than this anything goes shit show.

It's not like we have a shortage of people in this country, we can't house what we've got

Couldn't agree more.

Just when I think women living in Scotland get a raw deal, the government go and do something like this.

I think I’m going to teach my children that the words ‘be kind’ often signal a disproportionate loss to a woman, or anyone vulnerable.

Laura High, who was donor conceived and campaigns against the fertility industry hears one young woman's near death experience here. Considering the Dr and the nurse argued about whether she should go to the ER for emergency treatment with the Dr insisting on draining excess fluid from the abdomen at her office the young lady is extremely lucky to be alive. That should have been done in hospital with full back up of services, monitoring blood tests, available radiology and ICU and all the rest.

vm.tiktok.com/ZGJokmEVG/

I’m absolutely appalled by this. No one needs to have a baby. AndI say that as someone who couldn’t have children due to fertility issues.

I’m glad my adult female Scottish brain is capable of making an informed decision then. You’d think they were rounding women up to harvest they way you’re harping on.

I mean, I would also say that this campaign is unconvincing and there seems no reason to do it, since there's no incentive beyond "let someone have a baby", which isn't an incentive to me (why should I care?), and if anything, would make me uncomfortable to think it's with my DNA out there somewhere.

But you seem to assuming that everyone is thinking rationally and completely impervious to the effects of marketing/targeted advertising.

This.

They appear to treat biological women as mere commodities. Appalling.

But they are. Young women are targeted to have their eggs harvested. Lots of potential physical and psychological damage that isn't mentioned on their website or in their adverts.

Also interesting the gov only wants women under 35 to donate their eggs. I bet the vast majority of women using these 'donated' eggs are a lot older than this and too old to biologically have a successful pregnancy with their own eggs.

Young women struggling for money are targeted.

Well, that’s bollocks. There’s no money in altruistic egg donation.

In England (not sure about Scotland) women can choose to use an egg share scheme, where they get cut price IVF if they share their eggs with someone else. That’s how most egg donations happen as why would many people donate unless they benefited in some other way?

And of course they’re under 35, because eggs are statistically scrambled after that. Hence the majority of women using donor eggs being over 35.

Lots of people on this thread who’ve never experienced infertility and it shows.

That is so creepy :(

This type of campaign has been going on for a while, I remember 20 years ago seeing articles in teen magazines about what a wonderful and lucrative gift ‘egg donation’ is. I briefly considered it as I was broke, but then my friend took part in an egg collection research project, reacted badly to the ovary-stimulating drugs, and tried to kill herself, so that put me off unnecessarily messing with biology. (depression was a known side effect of the drugs they gave her, but her suicide attempt fell a few days outside the study timeline, so her reaction was never recorded as part of the study 😐)

In more recent years, I had egg collection as part of (failed) IVF. The surgeon yanked my ovaries and tubes all over the place, I lost a lot of blood and was left in physical pain for 8 months. I hate how they call the collection tool a needle. It is not a needle. It is a very large sharp thing that leaves a painful hole in your vaginal wall that they shrug off and say ‘It’ll heal by itself’. Yes it will - slowly and painfully, over months.

I wish they didn’t minimise the procedure. It isn’t a ‘collection’ it’s serious surgery.

Interesting study on how much the needle size changes the amount of pain the woman has after the operation. The fact that they did this study shows that most women have pain afterwards and that it’s a problem.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7563574/#:~:text=Interventions-,Oocyte%20retrieval%20with%20a%20reduced%20needle%20(20%2F17%20gauge),standard%20needle%20(16%20gauge).

Young poor women taken advantage of just because older women can't get pregnant with their own egg

Not just them
It's all the people who have absolutely no chance of getting pregnant at all. Such as a gay couple.

Well, that’s bollocks. There’s no money in altruistic egg donation.

And yet weirdly "Financial compensation" is listed as one of three reasons to donate eggs by this agency. Yes in the U.K. it's capped at £750 but that's a month's rent for a struggling student.

Along with (Be Kind) "help those in need" and "find out about your fertility" which shouldn't be a problem for the young women being targeted.

If young women want to help those in need they should volunteer at a food bank or something that doesn't put their own health at risk.

You do realise there’s a bit more to it than just turning up at a clinic and donating? Lots of women may well decide to donate, but that doesn’t mean they get to. It’s a very lengthy process, lots of screening and counselling involved.

Yes, the rules are the same. I have a friend who donated eggs - she’s been told they have been used successfully to create 3 children and that they can contact her when they’re 18 (if they want).

A lesbian can get pregnant if she uses a sperm donor. She doesn't need egg donation. No one does. I also don't agree with male gay couples paying for surrogacy using the surrogate's eggs (obviously as men don't have eggs). Surrogacy should be voluntary, not paid (prevents exploitation). Ivf and drugs like Clomid are amazing for women struggling to conceive. I think they should only use their eggs though.

I think it's exploitative for ivf clinics to persuade women to donate some of their eggs so the cost of their ivf treatment is lowered. What if Woman 1 never conceives but Woman 2 does using Woman 1's eggs? You'd always wonder if you had a bio child out there.

n England (not sure about Scotland) women can choose to use an egg share scheme, where they get cut price IVF if they share their eggs with someone else. That’s how most egg donations happen as why would many people donate unless they benefited in some other way?

I hate this. It’s exploitative. What if someone else gets pregnant with your eggs and you don’t? And presumably women who barely produce enough eggs for themselves never mind to share still has to pay full whack.