Egg donation in the age of vitrification: A study of egg providers’ perceptions and experiences in the UK, Belgium and Spain

Abstract

IVF treatment involving donated eggs increases yearly.Numerous technical and commercial transformations have reshaped how eggs are retrieved, stored and managed. A key transformation is vitrification; a 'fast freezing' method that allows efficient preservation of eggs, and therefore more flexibility in use, giving rise to new commercial possibilities. There has been limited focus on egg providers' experiences in the context of vitrification and related commercialisation. We report findings from a study in the UK, Spain and Belgium, where we interviewed 75 egg providers. Comparing experiences within different donation 'regimes' allows an exploration of how varying national practices and policies shape information-giving and women's experiences. In the UK, a system of 'informed gift-giving' was described, where egg providers saw their actions as not-for-profit and felt relatively well informed. In Belgium, the system was presented as 'trusted tissue exchange': with less information-giving than in the UK, but clinics were trusted to act responsibly. In Spain, a 'closed-door, market-driven' system was described, whereby egg providers received little information and

Establishment of a Unified Register of Donor Sexual Gametes in the Republic of Kazakhstan

“…In the Republic of Kazakhstan, as indicated above, these figures are lower. A healthcare provider in Spain has the option of choosing the recipient's reproductive material while taking the donor's phenotypic traits into account (32). Our results provide a strong rationale for establishing a unified gamete registry in Kazakhstan, modelled after registries in the United States, Spain, and regional programmes in Europe (14).…”

Eggonomics: Vitrification and bioeconomies of egg donation in the United States and Spain

“…In their discussion of the impact of vitrification on fertility treatment, Baldwin et al examine how vitrification is "transforming the reproductive landscape in novel and complex ways" (Baldwin et al, 2019, 713). With a comparison of egg donation in the UK, Belgium, and Spain, Sara Lafuente-Funes et al further address how oocyte vitrification gives rise to new commercial opportunities in the European context (Lafuente-Funes et al, 2023). The authors explain how Spain, unlike the other two European egg donation settings, exhibits a "closed-door market-driven system" in which donors receive little information about how their eggs are distributed and express concern about profits being made from their donations (Lafuente-Funes et al, 2023).…”

“…With a comparison of egg donation in the UK, Belgium, and Spain, Sara Lafuente-Funes et al further address how oocyte vitrification gives rise to new commercial opportunities in the European context (Lafuente-Funes et al, 2023). The authors explain how Spain, unlike the other two European egg donation settings, exhibits a "closed-door market-driven system" in which donors receive little information about how their eggs are distributed and express concern about profits being made from their donations (Lafuente-Funes et al, 2023). The US egg donation system is more blatantly market-driven than the one in Spain, but unlike the "closed-door" approach, the commercialization of oocytes in the United States is normalized-although metaphors of the "altruistic gift" still permeate the industry-and donor access to their medical information or oocyte distribution varies between clinics.…”