This Company Is Trying To Make More Perfect Babies

Last month, 30-year-old Alicia Routh got an email from the fertility clinic where she had previously donated dozens of her eggs. The email was sent out to 40 donors whose eggs are frozen in test tubes at the Pacific Northwest Fertility clinic in Seattle.

“How are you Alicia?” the email began. “As you know, Pacific NW Fertility is always looking for the best ways to help a family have a healthy baby.”

It went on to describe a new genetic testing program. The clinic wanted all of its donors, “past and present,” to participate by sending in a sample of their saliva for DNA testing. In exchange, the clinic would send donors a gift card, the email said. “This is a very powerful tool that our patients can use to choose the best donor for them.”

Routh had donated eggs to Pacific Northwest three times. Her first experience was a “fresh donation” with a specific couple, a husband and wife who chose her based on her listed traits: dark hair, dark eyes, and a college education.

Last year...