It’s come to this. College is so expensive, some young women are paying for their educations by donating their eggs which can sell for thousands of dollars.

Cody Rhodes of 13 WMAZ reports.

College Females Turn to Egg Donations to Fund School

With tuition fees and interest rates on student loans being as high as they are, some college women are turning to egg donation to help pay for school and loans.

While payment for donated eggs can be high, ranging anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the selected method and clinic, the process is lengthy – sometimes taking up to six months to complete. Donors must submit applications before undergoing physical and psychological screenings and intense hormone therapy, involving self-administered shots.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2010, the most recent year for which statistics are available, egg donations comprised 12% of assisted reproductive technology procedures, a number steady from 2008 figures.

Jasmine Stein, a Purdue University graduate, donated her eggs last year to escape a financial bind.

After completing the process, Stein published a blog on The Huffington Post, “I Donated My Eggs For The Money, And I Don’t Regret It,” and, seven months later, says that’s still true, despite the hundreds of negative comments she received.

“There’s still some stigma around it,” Stein says, but she also believes “(egg donation) is becoming more and more of an option” for college-age women.

Another student, Chelsea McDonald, a senior at Texas State University, agrees.

“A lot of people think it’s really weird, but I want people to know it’s not,” says McDonald.

McDonald became a registered egg donor through Reproductive Medicine Associates in San Antonio earlier this year to help pay off college loans, and is waiting to be selected by a recipient so she can finish the donation process.