Chinese university student sells her eggs for US$41,000
Medical expert warns unregulated procedure is risky and possibly life-threatening
A woman university student in Shanghai sold 20 of her eggs on the black market for 250,000 yuan (US$41,000), according to an investigative report by a local television station.
A reporter from Shanghai Television went undercover as an egg donor and met a broker on the black market in Shanghai on February 19, according to the news programme which aired earlier in the week.
Footage she took with a hidden camera showed her waiting to be interviewed along with a half-dozen other women in an office building. When it was her turn, the broker asked her a range of questions, including details about her scores on each subject of the college entrance exam and the medical history of her extended family members.
Donors used their appearance, health and education as bargaining chips to negotiate the highest possible offer for their eggs, according to the report.
The undercover journalist remained in contact with one woman she met who said she had sold 20 eggs. “I don’t think there is any risk to this,” the woman was quoted as saying. “Another girl who I came here with is doing it for the second time.”