It’s booming, and fraught with fraud:

The cost of a donated egg has soared from about $2,500 a few years ago to as much as $35,000 in some cases as lack of regulatory oversight has enabled a new breed of marketers called “egg hunters” to act as Internet brokers between recipients and donors, said Dr. Drew Moffitt, co-medical director of the Arizona Reproductive Medicine Specialists, an infertility practice.

Indeed, a random Google search of the phrase “egg donor” called up nearly 1.2 million links. Some proclaimed things like “Hot & Smart Egg Donors,” while others bore ads aimed at students by offering sums like $7,000 for eggs to pay for books, college and “elective” surgery.