Cofertility offers free egg freezing in exchange for donating half of retrieved eggs
Cofertility, a Los Angeles fertility startup led by CEO Lauren Makler, is offering young women free egg freezing—normally costing around $18,000 in cities like New York—if they agree to donate half of their retrieved eggs to other prospective parents. The company recruits candidates through targeted social media ads and a screening quiz, and has already attracted thousands of applicants, including a 24-year-old graduate student named Yuchen Tu.
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This egg-sharing model turns a woman's future fertility into a bargaining chip against the high cost of reproductive medicine, raising questions about informed consent, exploitation of financially strained young women, and how genetic material is commodified. It also signals a new wave of venture-backed startups reshaping fertility care by monetizing donor eggs rather than just selling freezing services.
- Cofertility offers free egg freezing in exchange for donating half of eggs retrieved to other intended parents.
- The company uses targeted digital ads and screening quizzes to recruit young, fertile candidates.
- The model raises ethical concerns about consent and commodifying reproductive material among financially vulnerable women.
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Published there as: “There’s a Hot New Egg-Freezing Startup. It’s Weirder Than You Could Imagine”
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