Dia Hadid
👤 SpeakerAppearances Over Time
Podcast Appearances
On his folding phone that opens like a tablet, he shows us some of the Indian models and actresses whose eggs he purchases for clients.
He pulls out the profile of one of these women.
On the screen, the young woman has long, glossy brown hair, clear olive skin and smiling brown eyes.
I'm really curious about the egg donation aspect.
Like, is it skin colour, beauty?
He says these premium donors are paid between $3,000 to $7,000 for their highly sought-after eggs.
And to extract those premium eggs, he says he has two options.
He can arrange a procedure for the woman in India.
He paints it as a glamorous side hustle for the women involved and talks about a premium donor he's sent to Kenya.
But for the majority of women who supply their biomaterial to the fertility industry, the reality is far from glamorous.
Abhirami is 34 and lives in a slum in the southern city of Chennai.
Like other women we interview in this slum, she asks to only use her first name because she doesn't want to risk getting in trouble.