If you’re a healthy woman in your twenties and you’re in college, your eggs are in high demand.

College-aged women make ideal egg-donor candidates, according to various area fertility centers, which advertise on college campuses and pay donors up to $6,000. But don’t jump too soon – the process is time-consuming and can pose health risks including diminished fertility and the possibility of ovary damage or abdominal swelling, according to Tara Torchia, the sexual health coordinator at the University Health Center.

Clinics target college students not only because many are in the prime age range to donate – between 20 and 29 – but also because enrollment in college demonstrates intelligence and the ability to juggle a busy schedule – characteristics important to many potential recipients.

“Almost everyone in this area wants a college-educated young lady” as a donor, said Susan Ondr, who coordinates egg donations at Washington Fertility Center. “That’s the nature of the market.”

But while $6,000 might be considered a small fortune to many college students, the time and risk involved could act as a possible deterrent, Torchia said.

One of the main concerns many women have about egg donation is the effect it can have on future fertility, she said.

“Women are born with a finite number of eggs, and from the time you’re born, those eggs start to die,” Torchia explained. “So that while you might be born with two million, you might only have 400,000 left now. That’s one of the reasons why fertility drops as you get older.”

Carol Rozencwaig, the executive director of Family Building Center, Inc., said donating eggs wouldn’t negatively affect a donor’s chance of having her own kids later in life, but Torchia warned future fertility should still be a concern for potential donors.

“They are harvesting all these follicles of eggs which are going to be the best of the best because they mature first,” Torchia said. “Then these same women want to have children in their thirties and their eggs have depleted. It does have implications for future fertility.”

For those who are willing to take the risk, the process is very involved, and starts with a potential donor visiting a clinic to begin a detailed screening process. A candidate must be in full physical, mental and emotional health, as assessed by various tests, including blood screenings and psychological evaluations.

These tests look for any genetic disorders the donor could pass on to offspring, such as sickle cell anemia, alcoholism or personality disorders. If they pass these tests, potential donors are then checked by ultrasound for any problems with egg production.

Following the initial screening, the donor begins a lengthy process of preparing her body for the egg donation through hormonal treatments in the form of birth control pills and self-injections of various hormones to stimulate egg production.

Rozencwaig said the donor’s menstrual cycle must be synchronized with the recipient mother’s before the hormonal treatments begin, causing the entire medical process to take at least two months.

On the day of the “retrieval,” the donor is sedated with a light dose of anesthesia. A doctor then inserts a needle through the vaginal wall into the follicle fluid in order to retrieve the eggs, a process that does not involve cutting or stitches. About two weeks after the retrieval, donors go back to the clinic for a follow-up evaluation.

The retrieval takes about 15 to 25 minutes and is done on an outpatient basis, Rozencwaig said.

As far as side effects, there is a chance for menstrual spotting and cramping, according to the Washington Fertility Center’s website. There is also a chance of developing a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, which occurs when excess fluid seeps into the abdomen causing swelling.

If an error is made during harvesting, there is potential for ovarian damage, Torchia said, adding she is unaware if there are any long-term effects of taking the hormones to increase egg production.

“Helping people who can’t have their own babies is great, but students really need to think of the long-term implications,” Torchia said. “You are providing an egg, which is one half of a child.”

Contact reporter Jess Milcetich at milcetichdbk@gmail.com.