NewStats: 3,262,633 , 8,177,735 topics. Date: Tuesday, 03 June 2025 at 06:06 AM 5a6b6t

In fertility clinics tucked away in various Nigerian cities, a new kind of economy is taking shape—one that trades in the most personal of human resources: eggs and sperm. Often unnoticed, and rarely talked about in public, it is young Nigerians—mostly students—who are fuelling this quiet but booming market, sometimes at a steep personal cost.

Driven by poverty, desperation, and a lack of awareness, many students are turning to egg and sperm donation as a way to make quick cash. The figures vary. Some receive as little as ₦20,000, others ₦50,000 or more. The amount depends on the clinic, the donor’s age, health, and, in many cases, the involvement of brokers who act as middlemen.

For medical experts and legal professionals, what was once a discreet and medically controlled procedure is now evolving into something more troubling—a loosely regulated market where ethics and health risks are often overlooked.

Speaking at a recent press conference, investigative journalist Dorothy Nwankwo raised alarm about the vulnerability of young donors and the urgent need for scrutiny. “Many of these young people are unaware of the long-term health implications,” she said. “This isn’t just about a quick fix for financial hardship. We’re talking about serious ethical and medical concerns.”

A Cost Too High

Professor Omolade Olomola, a family law and gender justice expert at the University of Ibadan, shared a harrowing of a female student who was taken from Lagos to Abuja to donate her eggs so she could pay her tuition.

“She was told after the procedure that her eggs were not viable and given only ₦14,000,” Olomola said. “No one informed her beforehand that the procedure was intrusive. She was a virgin. She still suffers from emotional trauma to this day.”

Olomola blames poverty and the erosion of moral values for the growing trend. “Many of these students are simply trying to survive. But what they go through is not far removed from the horrors of baby factories. Phones are seized, doors are locked, and the injections begin,” she added.

Despite not being opposed to regulated egg and sperm donation, she stressed the need for strong legal frameworks and better protection for donors.

Call for Regulation

Dr. Bukumi Kolade, Chief Medical Director of Vine Branch Medical Centre in Ibadan, s stricter regulations. He believes that guidelines must be established regarding who can donate, how often, and under what medical supervision.

“Without a national policy, responsible clinics must self-regulate,” he said. “Donors should not be allowed to donate more than a set number of times in a year or in their lifetime. Each case should be reviewed by an ethics committee within the clinic.”

Kolade likened the trend to blood donation, where commercial motivations often outweigh altruism. “Just as people sell blood for money, people are now selling eggs and sperm. The practice won’t stop overnight, but we must educate them. They need to know what they’re getting into.”

He warned of several potential health risks associated with egg donation, including urinary tract infections, ovarian cysts, and hormonal reactions. “Each procedure may carry a small percentage of risk, but the more often they donate, the more those risks add up.”

Behind Closed Doors

Dr. Olalekan Ogunlowo, CEO of Zenith Hospital in Ibadan, echoed those concerns. He acknowledged that egg and sperm donations are not new, but expressed dismay at how younger Nigerians now see them as a means of survival.

“Young people between 18 and 22 are the main players in this space now. They are being lured in because of money, and some clinics are turning a blind eye to the dangers,” he said. “Some medical practitioners are enabling this because of financial incentives. It’s sad.”

Ogunlowo called for proper regulation and stressed that any legislative intervention must involve medical professionals. “The procedures happen in hospitals, so you can’t regulate without the doctors,” he said.

He explained that repeated donations can have long-term health impacts, such as hormonal imbalances, infertility, and chronic pain. “Some men might end up with issues like early ejaculation or low sperm count. For women, there’s the risk of never being able to conceive again,” he added.

Students at Risk

Public health expert Dr. Abiola Ajibola said students should be made to understand the emotional consequences of donating their fertility for money. “If a young woman donates her eggs and later can’t conceive when she’s ready, the emotional trauma could be unbearable,” she warned.

She called on the National Assembly to intervene with legislation, urging the closure of fertility clinics found exploiting students. “We need sperm and egg banks that are run under strict regulations. Donation should be voluntary—not a trade for survival,” she added.

Source : https://politicsnigeria.com/inside-nigerias-quiet-egg-and-sperm-market-where-students-trade-fertility-for-survival/

Organs harvester

U

wahalla

Me I want to donor.......Will they give me a sweet girl??

hmm

Interesting

I think this article is significantly exaggerating the risks of donating eggs and sperm. How can you say a man will suffer from low sperm count for donating sperm when the average adult male masturbates more than 3 times a week? If that was the case, our population will be declining and not growing at a healthy pace.

I'm a chronic sperm donor and I can proudly say my sperm has made over 150 couples happy parents today. I also donate a pint of blood every month as well and I have told my wife to make sure every organ in my body gets donated when I'm dead.

My only worry as a sperm donor is the risk of a boy I fathered meeting a girl I also fathered and having an incestuous relationship without knowing it. Other than that, I love donating my sperm, the monetary incentive is nice but what's most rewarding is the joy and happiness I bring to several families who would otherwise not have any children of their own.

Articles like this should be banned because they shame donors and creates a bad stigma associated with being a donor. There's already a shortage of donors, and this article doesn't help matters.

Oh chim

GOFRONT:
Me I want to donor.......Will they give me a sweet girl??

Are you se..x staved or something?

Well,
To some, it's not because of hardship, they just see it as another source of income.
They willingly go in for the cash.

Yes o!

Give the Gift of Life — And Be Rewarded for It 🌟
Now accepting healthy sperm and egg donors across Nigeria

Tucked away in various cities, a quiet revolution is happening—young Nigerians are helping build families and futures through sperm and egg donation. If you're healthy, comionate, and willing, you can make a difference and be handsomely rewarded for it.

💰 Compensation

₦5,000,000 for approved sperm donors

₦10,000,000 for approved egg donors

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a growing community of people making an impact—not just for money, but for meaning.

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Change a life. Change your own. Donate today.

N

Man102:


Source : https://politicsnigeria.com/inside-nigerias-quiet-egg-and-sperm-market-where-students-trade-fertility-for-survival/

na dem sabi.

What is wrong with that?

Men have been donating before my grandma was born in foreign countries.
Women are just catching up.


I think that women own is harder and requires more medical approach unlike men.

Rest.

Really

No wonder biological fatherless children full everywhere, most of them constitute nuisance here on Nairaland

This is bad. What if these donors become infertile tomorrow when they get married?

It's well.

Later if they hear that the Chief medical doctor there happened to be a powerful native doctor and high ranking wizard in the occultic world that have done ridiculous fetish things some of which were buried in the environment and he is nowhere to be found, they begin to jump from one church or miracle centre to another.

Where can we donate?

Anything for money. The funny things is the money made they make goes to hotels and bars, prostitutes, wigs, etc. Terrible

I pray this process is not abused.
Hospital should do what is needed and not follow shortcuts.

Tooor
Cos of this money sha. God will save the present and generation from this quick and high risk money making mentally without think about the consequences in the future.

Gradually the innocence of teenagers are sacrificed on the altar of personal political gains. I don’t blame the youths taking such uncalculated risks. I blame the government that failed them in all aspects.

Civil servants are finding it difficult to survive talk more of students. The society has been designed to implode because of our faulty social value system. Students were once paid to study now you have to pay to even get a .

Digital Opueh making money

Fact!

Llight101:
Well,
To some, it's not because of hardship, they just see it as another source of income.
They willingly go in for the cash.

This is haram!

Selling Blood is haram!

Selling sperm is haram!

Selling eggs is haram!

But if na normal poultry egg that's halal.

Eat eggs but don't sell your egg/sperm!

This life have finished.

GOFRONT:
Me I want to donor.......Will they give me a sweet girl??

Hian, you have started again ooo