The Long-Term Medical Risks of Egg Donation: Contributions Through Psychology

Although the egg donation industry in the UNITED STATES is expanding rapidly, there is a gap in research on the long-term medical risks of egg donation. Scholars have raised concern that current risk communication practices fail to provide donors with comprehensive information on the risks of donation, thus compromising their ability to provide fully informed consent. First, we situate this article within scholarship that has brought attention to the ways in which neoliberalism has shaped the egg donation industry, drawing light to the incentive structures and power imbalances among key actors. Second, we apply prospect theory and the anchoring heuristic to demonstrate how donors' initial exposure to information during recruitment, as well as the way in which risk is framed throughout, may have enduring implications on their perception and decision making, thereby potentially compromising their health. In the Recommendations section of this article, we call for empirical testing of these theories with egg donors and propose policies that safeguard donors' health and well-being. What is the significance of this article for the general public?By demonstrating how neoliberalism has shaped the egg donation industry, this article draws on psychological science to reveal how current risk communication practices compromise donors' ability to provide fully informed consent. We discuss research and policy recommendations that center egg donors' agency, health, and well-being.