Egg Donors' Class-Action Lawsuit Advances

New York Times (Oct. 16, 2015): Egg Donors Challenge Pay Rates, by Tamar Lewin:

In a federal lawsuit, a group of women are challenging [infertility] industry guidelines that say it is “inappropriate” to pay a woman more than $10,000 for her eggs. The women say the $10,000 limit amounts to illegal price-fixing, and point out that there is no price restriction on the sale of human sperm. A federal judge has certified the claim as a class action.

The crux of the lawsuit is the allegation that infertility clinics have set the price of egg donor services at a low, non-competitive level, in a move that draws infertile couples to infertility clinics.  The industry has responded that the guideline aims to protect egg donors and recipients, an arguably procompetitive motive.  But as Kimberly Krawiec has pointed out, the evidence in the case seems to point the other way: egg donors could command higher prices in the open market.  A cap on the price they can charge diminishes their power in the marketplace.

The lawsuit will likely go to trial next year.