Reflections From A Five-Time Egg Donor

By Rossella Laeng

A short documentary explores the complicated process of surrogacy.

Artist Jenny Carolin has donated her eggs five times, and the haunting work she’s created about who they may become — The Donor Project — reveals the financial and emotional impact of the process.

Carolin herself has always wanted children of her own, but “it hasn’t been the right time.” She says:

“Before I fell down the rabbit hole, I didn’t know a woman could, or would, donate her eggs to an anonymous recipient for monetary compensation. It seemed extreme, like auctioning off one’s body parts or selling plasma, but once you start looking into it, it’s wrapped up in this pretty little package of philanthropic intent. I donated eggs because I found the experience compelling, and the money convincing, which is not an unselfish act … My Catholicism taught me that I should be a mother, preferably multiple times. This would define my subsequent worth and write my future. Because of my lifestyle, this could only happen…