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recently, zhang qiang (pseudonym) reported to the public interactive platform "fuwupai" of the paper that she saw people posting multiple advertisements recruiting "egg girls" in multiple wechat groups, which was "too blatant."

zhang qiang works as an anchor in shenzhen. she had joined some "anchor announcement groups" before. after seeing that people in the groups often posted this type of "recruitment advertisements", she decided to expose it.

in the conversation between zhang qiang and the "recruitment agency", the other party said that the price of egg retrieval in a regular hospital is linked to factors such as height, weight, appearance, and education. if the applicant is beautiful, he can be offered a price of 50,000 yuan. some "agents" also said that anyone over 18 years old can apply.

at present, my country has sperm banks but no egg banks, and any form of commercial egg donation and supply is expressly prohibited. the national health commission, together with the ministry of public security, the state administration for market regulation and other relevant departments, has also carried out special rectification actions many times to crack down on illegal sperm collection and supply, illegal egg collection and supply, surrogacy and other behaviors.

the reporter had a conversation with a "recruitment agency", who would give a price based on this information.

some lawyers said that it can be seen from the principles in the "regulations on the management of human assisted reproductive technology" and the "civil code" that my country has a negative attitude towards egg transactions. however, due to multiple factors, my country has not yet set up specific crimes to crack down on such transactions, which has also caused such transactions to become a "gray area."

in addition, reproductive experts said that if the egg retrieval operation is not performed in a standardized manner, it may cause pelvic infection and affect subsequent fertility. once the pelvic organs are damaged, bleeding will occur. ovulation-inducing drugs may cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, ascites, pleural effusion, etc., and in severe cases, life-threatening.

"beautiful" can be offered 50,000

on september 8, zhang qiang (pseudonym) told the paper that in several wechat groups of "model notices" and "anchor notices" in which she was, someone posted multiple advertisements recruiting "egg girls".

the screenshots she provided to the paper showed that someone posted an advertisement in a wechat group titled "recruiting a large number of volunteers (long-term) fairies from all over the country." the recruitment requirements are: "females must be adults, over 150cm tall, with regular facial features and good health, no restrictions on majors, and the price is based on height and education. time: 8-10 days 2-10w/instant marriage, fairies are 18-28 years old, have no bad habits, no fees, absolutely reliable, no agents or men please!" the recruitment advertisement is accompanied by a wechat id.

"i was very curious and very angry. this is too blatant." zhang qiang said that she added the wechat account on the recruitment advertisement and consulted on the grounds that she wanted to be an "egg girl". the other party said that the operation would be performed in a hospital in guangzhou, that it was safe and reliable, that many people were doing it, and that the price would be given based on a comprehensive assessment of the "egg girl's" appearance, height and academic qualifications.

the chat content between zhang qiang and the other party provided by zhang qiang showed that the other party said that she was beautiful and could offer a price of around 50,000 yuan.

the reporter of the paper added the wechat account left by the above recruitment advertisement under the pretext of asking for "part-time job of selling eggs". the nickname of one of the wechat accounts is "love", and the profile picture is a cartoon nurse. the other party said that they need to provide height, weight, education, age, 5 selfies, 1 full-body photo, and even count whether the egg donor has single eyelids or double eyelids.

through another advertisement for recruiting "egg girls" provided by zhang qiang, the reporter of the paper added a "broker" on wechat. the reporter consulted on the grounds of applying for a job as an "egg girl". the other party said that in addition to providing height, weight and appearance, the education level must also be disclosed, whether it is "number of books/unified examination/art examination/correspondence education". the other party said that anyone over 18 years old can apply, and at the same time, the current occupation status must be disclosed, whether it is a student, working or unemployed.

the "agent" also posted several times on wechat moments about taking girls to the outpatient clinic for blood tests. in a wechat moments push on july 13 this year, the "agent" posted an "immersive egg retrieval" video in which three suspected medical staff were operating the operating table. after the "egg retrieval" was completed, an "assistant" placed the "follicular fluid" in front of a machine and said "the eggs in the follicular fluid must be found as soon as possible."

the circle of friends of one of the "recruitment agents" showed that he took the "egg girl" to the outpatient clinic. screenshot

the "agent" said that the eggs were retrieved in the villa

knowing that they are operating in a "gray area", the "agents" are very secretive about where the eggs are retrieved: "we are like hospitals, high-end clinics", "regular hospitals, we don't have small clinics", "all are regular hospitals, regular and qualified private hospitals". one of the "agents" sent a video of the environment of a private hospital to the reporter of the paper.

“we do it on a big scale. we are not in a rented apartment, we are in a villa. however, the facilities inside are no different from those in a tertiary hospital…” although the words were ambiguous, the “agents” vowed to allay the concerns of the “egg sisters”.

according to zhang qiang, the hospital referred to by one of the "recruitment agents" was "hong kong jingya medical", located in guangzhou. zhang qiang had posted the conversation with the "recruitment agent" on social media. however, a social media account claiming to be a staff member of the hospital sent her a private message, denying that the hospital had "egg retrieval" and claiming that it was impersonated.

on may 28 this year, the wechat moments of the aforementioned “intermediary” posted a message about “recruiting professional nurses”, requiring “business trips all over the country, honest people, under 35 years old…” on may 21 this year, it posted a message on moments saying: “miss, come to our chengdu branch to arrange the start-up, come and make money smoothly.”

"there have been all kinds of noises outside recently ~ so chaotic? it has nothing to do with us! it's safe and reliable, so it's right to choose us... thank you to all the sisters who signed up for the first, second, or third time ~ you must get rich." this circle of friends was accompanied by information on multiple flights to guangzhou from all over the country.

the circle of friends of one of the "recruitment agents". screenshot

after the reporter from the paper expressed concerns, the "recruitment agency" comforted him by saying that the eggs would be donated to infertile families.

on september 12, xing xin, a senior partner and lawyer at hunan jinzhou law firm, said that the "regulations on the management of human assisted reproductive technology" implemented on august 1, 2001 stipulates that the application of human assisted reproductive technology should be carried out in medical institutions for medical purposes and in accordance with national family planning policies, ethical principles and relevant legal provisions. it is prohibited to buy and sell gametes, zygotes, and embryos in any form. medical institutions and medical personnel are not allowed to implement any form of surrogacy technology.

xing xin introduced that article 1009 of the civil code stipulates that those engaged in medical and scientific research activities related to human genes, human embryos, etc. must abide by laws, administrative regulations and relevant national regulations, and must not endanger human health, violate ethical morals, or harm public interests.

xing xin believes that through the principles in the "regulations on the management of human assisted reproductive technology" and the "civil code", it can be seen that my country has a negative attitude towards egg trading, but due to the influence of factors such as the medical value of related technologies, legislation and social ethics, there is also the issue of how to implement criminal governance in detail. at present, my country has not specifically set up crimes to crack down on such transactions, which has also caused such transactions to become a "gray area."

regarding the issue of someone posting such recruitment advertisements in a wechat group, on september 20, a reporter from the paper contacted relevant staff from tencent but received no effective response.

experts say it may affect healthy fertility

liu ying, chief physician of the department of reproductive medicine at guangdong provincial women and children's health care hospital, said in an interview with the paper that regular hospitals strictly follow the national laws and resolutely prohibit illegal activities such as egg trading and surrogacy. if the egg retrieval operation is not standardized, it may cause pelvic infection, affecting one's future fertility. once the pelvic organs are damaged, it will cause bleeding. in addition, drugs that promote ovulation may cause ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome, ascites, pleural effusion, and in severe cases, life-threatening.

liu ying has worked at the reproductive center of guangdong provincial women and children's health care hospital for nearly 20 years. she has met many patients with decreased ovarian function and inability to obtain eggs through test tubes, and has also come into contact with many families suffering from infertility. some families are really infertile and do not meet the conditions for adopting children in welfare institutions. "they feel that they have lost their right to be parents." therefore, she believes that the country should strictly crack down on illegal surrogacy and egg sales on the one hand, and on the other hand, it can also consider the actual situation and allow more humane measures, such as legal egg donation.

relevant departments are also working hard to make egg donation legal. in september 2019, the national health commission responded to the "suggestions on the timely establishment of a public welfare egg donation system and human egg bank" put forward by the national people's congress deputies in the "reply to suggestion no. 2288 of the second session of the 13th national people's congress" (hereinafter referred to as the "reply").

the reply stated that in recent years, the national health commission has commissioned relevant units to organize medical, legal, ethical, and sociological experts to conduct research and demonstration on the necessity, scientificity, safety, and feasibility of egg donation from the aspects of technology, management, and risk assessment. in the next step, the national health commission will adhere to the principles of benefiting egg donors and egg recipients, informed consent, protecting offspring, social welfare, and strictly preventing commercialization, and will work with relevant departments to conduct extensive and in-depth research and demonstration, pay close attention to the development of egg freezing technology, conduct feasibility analysis of non-commercial egg donation, actively promote relevant legislation, and prudently promote clinical applications to adapt to technological development and the needs of the people.

pushing for criminalization of illegal egg donation

the paper noted that relevant departments have issued many orders to prohibit illegal egg retrieval, and multiple departments have jointly carried out strict rectification.

the "notice of the ministry of health on the revision of technical specifications, basic standards and ethical principles related to human assisted reproductive technology and human sperm banks" issued in 2003 clearly stipulates: "sperm and egg donation can only be for the purpose of donating to help people, and buying and selling are prohibited", and puts forward clear requirements for the indications and basic conditions for egg donation.

the official website of the national health commission shows that at the fourth meeting of the 13th national committee of the chinese people's political consultative conference, a member proposed a "proposal on prohibiting the underground commercial sale of eggs". the national health commission, after consulting with the ministry of education and the ministry of public security, replied that human assisted reproductive technology is a special clinical diagnosis and treatment technology with restricted applications. in addition to medical issues, it also involves many social, ethical, and legal issues.

the reply stated that in terms of improving laws and regulations and cracking down on illegal activities such as egg selling and surrogacy in accordance with the law, the national health commission, together with the ministry of public security, the state administration for market regulation and other relevant departments, has carried out a number of special rectification actions to severely crack down on illegal sperm collection and supply, illegal egg collection and supply, surrogacy and other illegal activities to maintain social ethical order. in june 2021, the national health commission, together with 11 departments including the central cyberspace affairs office, the supreme people's court, the supreme people's procuratorate, the ministry of education, the ministry of industry and information technology, and the ministry of public security, issued the "notice on further severely cracking down on illegal application of human assisted reproductive technology and other illegal and criminal activities in accordance with the law" (national health commission supervision letter [2021] no. 323), further clarifying the responsibilities of departments, forming a joint supervision force, and protecting the health rights and interests of the people.

at the first meeting of the 14th national committee of the chinese people's political consultative conference, another member proposed a proposal to improve legislation to govern illegal and irregular egg retrieval. the national health commission, after consulting with the ministry of public security, the state administration for market regulation, and the national medical insurance administration, replied that the "measures for the administration of human assisted reproductive technology" is a departmental regulation, and the punishment for illegal and irregular behaviors is limited. at present, there is no criminal statement in the criminal law regarding the crime of "organizing the sale of human cells and human tissues".

the reply stated that in recent years, the national health commission has actively promoted legislation on the management of human assisted reproductive technology, initiated the drafting of the "regulations on the management of human assisted reproductive technology", organized special studies on key and difficult issues in legislation, and widely listened to the opinions and suggestions of experts and scholars in the fields of medicine, ethics, law, sociology, and management. at the same time, it actively coordinated with the supreme people's court, the ministry of public security and other departments to strive to promote the criminalization of illegal egg collection and supply, surrogacy and other illegal acts from the criminal law level.

the reply also stated that since 2013, the commission has jointly carried out special rectification actions with the ministry of public security, the state administration for market regulation and other departments, and jointly issued the "notice on establishing a long-term working mechanism for investigating and handling illegal and irregular applications of human assisted reproductive technology" with 12 departments including the ministry of public security and the supreme people's court, further clarifying the division of responsibilities among departments, promoting multi-department joint law enforcement, and striving to protect the health rights and interests of the people. in 2023, the national health commission, together with 14 departments including the central political and legal affairs commission, jointly issued the "notice on issuing a work plan for special activities to severely crack down on human assisted reproductive technology", deploying to strengthen the full-chain management related to technology application and severely crack down on related illegal and irregular behaviors.

the national health commission stated that in the next step, the commission will continue to strengthen communication and cooperation with relevant departments, promote legislation on assisted reproductive technology, strengthen supervision of assisted reproductive technology, further increase penalties for illegal and irregular behaviors, continuously standardize the application of human assisted reproductive technology, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of the people's reproductive health.