Don't put all your eggs in one...

If you're a female and you've ever needed cash, fast, you've jokingly had the thought "I could donate my eggs." But really, what is in involved with donating eggs? Is it as easy as the ads on Craiglist make it out to be?

First, you have to qualify to donate. Generally they'd like the donor to be in her twenties and free of health problems. You'd have to submit blood samples, recent medical history, and fill out a genetic questionnaire.

If you pass all that, you can look forward to more needles. Lots more needles.

If you're on the pill or some other sort of birth control, you'd have to go off of it and have a 'natural' cycle. They'd then start monitoring your cycle from day 1, taking blood samples to see if your hormone levels were ideal for donation or not. At day 19, they would check you again. At the start of your next day 1, the real fun would begin.

Typically, you would next have an ovarian scan. What is an ovarian scan? It is when they stick a long, thin probe up your vagina and peek around at your eggs in your ovaries. For some, this can be painful because the technician will have to press on your lower abdomen so your ovaries present better to the sonogram device. Just a lot of pressure and squishing, really.

You give more blood to monitor your hormone level, injecting yourself with hormones in the fatty area of your belly over the course of your cycle. You are checked periodically during the next few weeks, sometimes having to have your hormone level adjusted depending on the level in your blood.

Just before harvesting, you give yourself a final big injection of hormone. All these shots are to encourage your ovaries to over produce egg 'let down', releasing more than one egg during that particular monthly cycle.

Egg collection is a short process. You are sedated. Once under, the actual retrieval of eggs takes about 15 minutes. It consists of sticking a long thing probe into the vagina and then using a very thin needle to extract the eggs, which can be as many as 13. While you aren't ready to run a marathon, you aren't totally out of commission either. A day off is suggested.

After the procedure there is a possibility of suffering from Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome(OHSS). This could be a bloated abdomen, PMS type symptoms, vomiting, and a host of other problems. If you experience any of these, your doctor should be notified immediately.

So, as you can see, you can't just "drop in" and lay a couple of your ovum on the table. It is at least a 2 month long process and sometimes painful.

Next time you need some quick cash, I'd suggest selling your Prada bag on ebay.