Underground market lures Russian women to China for egg donation

A recent undercover investigation found that egg donation businesses are flooding social media in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan in an attempt to lure women to China for egg donation as the country faces a massive population crisis. In addition to being paid thousands of dollars, potential donors are offered free flights, luxury accommodations, and gourmet meals. But the trade-off is far from worth it, according to one woman’s story.

Anna (a pseudonym) is a 22-year-old Moscow resident who donated her eggs. She was first interviewed online and was coached to present herself according to Chinese beauty standards. The interview seemed to treat Anna as if she were an animal being sized up for auction rather than a human being.

During the video call interview with a translator, Anna’s camera was turned on, but the ‘buyers’ kept their camera off. The interview included questions about Anna’s height, weight, blood type, and family background. She was also asked about her grades in math and had to walk in front of the camera and show her physique and her teeth. Anna had been through five similar interviews so she knew to “always smile, tell the truth when answers can be easily verified, and embellish where necessary,” according to Global Voices. “For example, she added five years to her grandmother’s age because Chinese clients value donors with long-living relatives.”

Physical appearance is evidently highly prized in China, with features like birthmarks, freckles, and red hair disliked by potential buyers. “Cuteness” and “femininity” are highly prized, so women like Anna are encouraged to present themselves in dresses and with frequent smiles. The agents behind the process have a vested interest in making sure their donors are selected; Anna’s agent earned a commission of $2,000 per cycle. Anna was ultimately selected and chose to move forward, even though the process is illegal in China. She had to undergo hormonal stimulation in China, so her visa was expedited so she could travel to Chongqing, where she stayed in a hotel, and was handled solely by a Chinese assistant who drove her to every appointment and communicated through a translator app.

READ: Man devastated to learn fertility doctor inseminated wife with stranger’s sperm

But when it came time to begin the egg donation process, Anna was not given access to what appeared to be legitimate medical care. Instead, everything took place in her hotel room, or in a residential apartment. Global Voices reported:

When Anna’s period began, she visited a clinic for a series of tests. Afterward, a nurse visited her hotel daily at 4 p.m. to administer hormonal injections. The program restricted alcohol, smoking, exercise, and sex, but Anna was otherwise free.

The hormonal stimulation lasted 10 days. On the day of the egg retrieval, Anna’s assistant took her to a residential area instead of a clinic. Her phone and documents were taken, and a sticker with Chinese characters was placed on her arm. Alongside four Chinese women, Anna entered a tinted white van. Unable to see outside, she felt anxious.

“I started to panic a bit, thinking they were going to sell my organs. But seeing the local women chatting and laughing calmed me down. I figured if they were coming too, everything would be okay,” she said.

The van stopped directly at a building entrance, leading to a staircase. At the top, Anna found an operating room and recovery wards. “It was some kind of makeshift clinic — definitely underground. That scared me because the checkups were in good hospitals. I assumed the retrieval would happen there,” she said.

Under anesthesia, Anna’s eggs were retrieved using a needle guided by ultrasound. She woke up half an hour later and was taken back to meet her agent. Her belongings were returned, and she was given IV fluids at a legitimate hospital. However, severe abdominal pain struck later that night.

Only then was Anna taken to a hospital. “I couldn’t move — I just lay there in excruciating pain,” she said. “My abdomen was swollen, and I could barely breathe. It was the worst night of my life. In Moscow, I would be back to normal immediately after the procedure. I’d never experienced anything like this.”

She spent the day in the hospital, and after receiving IV fluids, began to feel better; four days later, she was flown back to Russia and given $7,000. A doctor in China suggested Anna had a mild form of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which her agent said is common in China — because doctors give women higher doses of medication to ensure the desired results.

Other women have given similar stories about the egg donation process, even as Chinese nationals. There have also been illegal surrogacy rings uncovered, including “services” like customizing the gender of embryos, and if a baby was found to have disabilities at birth, the promise of starting over while representatives “take care of the deformed child.” Other hospitals have been found to be buying and selling birth certificates to give legitimacy to stolen and trafficked babies or babies born via surrogacy.

Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek:

Stop killing America’s future. Defund Planned Parenthood NOW!