I've always had a (sick?) fascination with giving blood. The rush I get from the altruism, perhaps combined with the endorphin rush of being stuck with a needle for 20 minutes and losing a quart of blood, is enough to keep me coming back. The idea of giving something more, something different, seems appealing to me.
And, though this makes me sound kinda greedy, a $3500 to $5000 payoff certainly doesn't *deter* me from researching egg donation. Originally, I considered trying to go for a fat check with a private firm-- but I think the days of $20,000 solicited donations are over, and those that do exist are either shady and fake or reserved for the handful of Ivy League model/dancer/biochemist donors. So I've gathered applications from several Seattle and Portland clinics that are wel-reviewed and I'm considering putting myself on file with them.
No, I'm not squicked by the concept of my genetic material running around somewhere on the planet. If anything, I find it reassuring to know that should I donate an egg and then die, I'll at least have succeeded as an organism. The idea of injecting myself in the stomach daily with an epi-pen full of follicle-stimulator doesn't bother me, nor does the egg harvesting procedure or the associated pain. I have a high pain tolerance and a healthy immune system. If other women can do it, so can I... although the term "Trans-Vaginal Needle" does make me shudder a bit. The only thing that does bother me is the idea of resetting my hormonal balance four times in a matter of months-- going OFF my pill, getting ON the pill the clinic selects to synch my cycle to the recipient's, going on the follicle stimulator, and then getting back on my pill.
I can deal with bloating, discomfort, and moods for the 10-14 days of hormonal intensity that treatment requires, but making myself a f-ed up mess for 3 months doesn't sound as appealing. When I consider that I could pay off four grand of my $30,000 in college loans in a heartbeat, however, the whole thing is cast in another light.
NOTE: All sections of the sidebar are active, including email (in case it didn't work before). Galleries of this summer's trips to Glacier and Banff should be up in the next few weeks.
Posted on October 13, 2005 @ 11:16 AM | 4 comments
Comments:
Seems like an exciting way to overachieve as an organism. And really, who wouldn't want your genetic material for half of their children? You are pretty awesome afterall.
By 
, at
1:56 PM, October 13, 2005
Well, if they have extras, I'll tell them to save one in a petri dish and send it to you. You can name it Eggy! ;-)
By 
Kat, at
4:34 PM, October 13, 2005
That is both scary and awesome. Everyone could have a little Kat! 4k is an awesome amount of money though.. maybe I should do this too as long as Blk is out of the picture and wouldnt have to deal directly with my bitchyness.
By , at
4:50 PM, October 13, 2005
You do know that I would us Eggy to clone an army of mighty space-pirate amazon ninja katgirls, don't you?
By , at
6:40 PM, October 13, 2005
