Mumbai: Prabha wants just one thing: a rented home for herself and her 9-year-old daughter. Unable to afford one, the 29-year-old beautician from Ulhasnagar travelled nearly two hours by train and bus to a doctor’s clinic in central Mumbai for 11 consecutive days to take hormone injections to stimulate her ovaries before doctors retrieved her eggs for another woman’s IVF treatment.For Prabha, the decision to donate had little to do with altruism, though Indian law permits egg donation only on an altruistic basis.She was promised Rs 85,000. Sitting in the clinic’s waiting room, she explains why she believes she is being paid more than other women there. “I’m a graduate. I’m fair and tall,” she says.Around her sit nearly 15 women, waiting either for health screening or their daily injections.Each has a reason. None admit to knowing that the law permits only one egg donation between 23 and 35 years of age.
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Siya, a divorcee from Mankhurd, lives with her brother and young son. “My brother is getting married. Why will his wife tolerate me?” she asks. A friend connected her to an agent. “The agent asked me to WhatsApp my photograph and Aadhaar card before recruiting me.” She has never met the agent, who paid her Rs 30,000 twice, but says she now wants more.Twenty-six-year-old Shaheen from Bhiwandi lost her call centre job two years ago and has a 5-year-old son. “My friend told me about egg donation. I’ve donated a few times, earning Rs 35,000 each time. I’ve even travelled to Hyderabad and Chennai,” she says.Chembur-resident Triveni, 27, says egg donation has become her means of survival. “My husband doesn’t earn regularly. He told me to take care of my own expenses.”These women who don’t know one another form the invisible workforce powering India’s booming IVF industry.Most have little understanding of science. Over 10-12 days, they undergo hormone injections, repeated scans and blood tests before eggs are retrieved under anaesthesia through a needle passed through the vaginal wall. Though most recover within a day, the procedure carries risks, including bleeding, infection and ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome.The biggest exploitation, experts say, is financial. An IVF cycle using donor eggs can cost up to Rs 2 lakh, but the women whose eggs make those pregnancies possible get less than 20% of the sum.IVF specialists estimate donor eggs are required in nearly 10% of the 2.5-3 lakh IVF cycles performed annually in India. “So, India needs at least 20,000 egg donors a year,” says a Bandra-based fertility specialist. But, as IVF specialist Dr Kedar Ganla puts it, the demand has outstripped supply: “There is a shortage of egg donors today because women are delaying childbirth and ovarian reserves in Indian women begin declining around 32.”Three months ago, Maharashtra Police unearthed an alleged illegal egg donation racket in Badlapur and arrested eight. Investigators said more than 250 illegal egg retrievals were carried out using 30 women, with one woman allegedly undergoing the procedure 37 times.Police say the racket preyed on poverty.Female agents approached women during suburban train journeys or in their neighbourhoods, striking up conversations about debt, alcoholism and family problems before offering what appeared to be an easy Rs 30,000-40,000.Investigators allege the women were taken not to authorised clinics but to residential flats for hormone injections. Forged Aadhaar cards and fabricated affidavits were allegedly used to bypass safeguards under the ART Act. Police also claim the women were not paid every time, with the racket coming to light after one donor complained at a Badlapur primary health centre that she had not been paid.The case has reignited debate within India’s fertility community.Dr Ganla points out that the law permits retrieval of only seven eggs from a donor. “However, studies show 15 eggs may be needed for a successful IVF cycle. Fewer eggs mean fewer embryos and reduced success rates.”Others believe the controversy is temporary. A senior IVF specialist said nearly 90% of ART clinics have now been registered under the ART Act. “Soon, every donor’s Aadhaar details will be on a central database. If a woman attempts to donate a second time, AI tools will flag it.”But a senior fertility expert believes India must confront an uncomfortable reality.“In the UK, egg donation is altruistic, but donors receive a fixed compensation of £900 for their time, travel and inconvenience,” he said. “In the US, women may receive up to $15,000 per donation and can donate up to six times,” he said, adding India should fix a compensation for women.In the fertility clinic waiting room, Prabha isn’t thinking about policy, regulations or the economics of IVF. She is thinking about giving her daughter a place to call home.(Names of donors have been changed)
