Assessing the Medical Risks of Human Oocyte Donation for Stem Cell Research Workshop Report (2007) / Chapter Skim
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4 Potential Psychological Risks
4 Potential Psychological Risks
Pages 41-50
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From page 41... ...
Or as Susan Klock, professor in the departments of obstetrics and gynecology and of psychiatry at Northwestern University, described it, "There is a whole psychology about why a woman does this and what she thinks and feels about being an oocyte donor." And so, in addition to the potential physical risks, the donation process potentially carries with it a number of psychological risks as well. Those potential risks can be classified into three broad categories (see Box 4-1)
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From page 42... ...
Potential donors then contact the program and are sent forms to fill out providing background information about their medical condition and details about who they are and why they are interested in being an egg donor. Later the recruiter will review that information and bring the potential donor in to talk with her about what it's like to be a donor and to put her through a medical and a psychological screening.
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From page 43... ...
The compensation is somewhat more in some places, somewhat less in others, but it is substantial enough that it can, when combined with the chance to help someone, make the donation process an appealing opportunity for some women. Other motivations that potential donors mention include an interest in science, wanting to find out about one's own fertility, and making up for a previous reproductive loss.
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From page 44... ...
"If a woman is in the midst of a divorce, or if a woman has just been a victim of a violent crime, this is not a great time for her to be an egg donor." Studies show that between 2 and 27 percent of potential donors are excluded for psychological reasons, and it is this exclusion that offers the major psychological risk in the screening process. If an applicant is excluded for a psychological reason, the interviewer must explain to her what psychological issues have been discovered and then provide appropriate referrals if there is a problem that needs to be dealt with.
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From page 45... ...
POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL RISKS OF POST-DONATION ADJUSTMENT There have been at least seven published studies looking at the postdonation psychological adjustment of women who donated their eggs for other women's pregnancies. The studies were generally done as mail-out surveys anywhere from two weeks to seven years after the retrieval surgery, although one survey was done using post-donation exit interviews.
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From page 46... ...
In a study done of 24 donors at the Cleveland Clinic contacted 6 and 12 months post-donation, 78 percent reported being very satisfied with the donation process, and 74 percent stated they would be willing to donate again. Donors said that the best aspects of the donation were helping another woman, being a medical pioneer, and the financial compensation.
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From page 47... ...
Another way to filter out more of these ambivalent donors, she said, would be to have a greater time lag between the time a donor is accepted into a program and the time that she undergoes the donation cycle. "I think just a little bit of time can allow a woman to fully think about the implications of what she may opt to do." One other fact came to light from the surveys that is of particular interest to those looking to recruit women as research donors: 25 percent of the reproductive donors questioned said they would not want their eggs used to create research embryos.
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From page 48... ...
The main risk in the first category is that the screening process may reveal some previously unknown psychological or medical condition that disqualifies the woman from donating and that is uncomfortable or psychologically threatening to the applicant. During the donation process, women report mood swings and irritability caused by the fertility drugs, pain caused by their injection, and anxiety in anticipation of the surgical procedure.
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From page 49... ...
49 POTENTIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL RISKS be an issue with research donors. As for the former, the best response would be to have more and better research done on the issue of the risks of oocyte donation, so that these risks can be reported to the donors and they can be clear about what they are getting themselves into.
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