‘I feel like they were mine and I should be looking after them’: an exploration of non-patient women's attitudes towards oocyte donation

Abstract

The aims of this study were to qualitatively assess the meaning of oocytes and oocyte donation for treatment and research among non-patient women in the UK using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. This study also assessed the application of components of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in intentions and attitudes towards oocyte donation. Eight parous and nulliparous women from White and South Asian backgrounds, who reported no fertility problems, were interviewed. Four interrelated super-ordinate themes were identified: (1) oocytes as 'Just a cell' and 'Potential life'; (2) oocyte donation as 'Altruism' and 'Not normal behaviour'; (3) 'Importance of motherhood' and the 'Importance of a genetic link'. Ethnic differences were observed in the final theme (4) which identified the importance of 'Social Support' and 'Reproductive Control' in women's discourses of oocyte donation. Analysis revealed participant's beliefs and thoughts about oocyte donation were complex, interwoven and paradoxical. Previous quantitative studies that have assessed components of the TPB in relation to oocyte donation have failed to identity important alternative explanations of oocyte donation and subtle complexities in attitudes.

Motivaciones y actitudes hacia la donación voluntaria de ovocitos: Experiencia de la Unidad de Medicina Reproductiva de la Clínica Monteblanco

“…De hecho, en el Reino Unido donde está prohibido la compensación económica por donar ovocitos, existe una importante falta de donantes, por lo que muchos centros han recurrido a una solución intermedia. En esta solución intermedia, la donante debe ser una paciente con diagnóstico de infertilidad y requerimiento de fecundación in vitro, la que es subsidiada en parte o totalmente en los procedimientos que necesita como parte del tratamiento de su infertilidad conyugal, a cambio de donar una parte de los ovocitos recuperados (9,15).…”

Worlds apart or two sides of the same coin? Attitudes, meanings, and motives of potential oocyte and sperm donors in Austria

“…In part three, our questionnaire also asked for respondents' motives, based on the literature and previous works [6,9,10,[13][14][15][16][17]. In detail, participants indicated the role of (1) altruism, (2) passing on one's genes, (3) financial reimbursement, and 4self-enhancement regarding their willingness to donate.…”

“…These studies can generally be divided into post-donation (focusing on actual donors) and pre-donation (focusing on potential donors) settings. The characteristics and motives of oocyte and sperm donors, egg share donors, and recipients have been explored previously [3,[5][6][7][8][9], mainly in populations where oocyte and sperm donation have been permitted for several years. Therefore, most studies have used post-donation questionnaires or interviews, possibly leading to the bias that donors with positive experiences and attitudes tend to participate [9].…”

Egg donation for stem cell research: ideas of surplus and deficit in Australian IVF patients’ and reproductive donors’ accounts

“…A more recent small‐scale qualitative study in Britain asked eight non‐patient women about their understandings of the meaning of oocytes and oocyte donation for treatment and research. The study found that, for some, oocytes represented a genetic child, making them unwilling to donate for reproduction, while the respondents generally reported positive attitudes towards donation coupled with an unwillingness to donate themselves (Purewal and Akker 2009). In Australia, a survey by Access, an organisation representing IVF patients, asked 2269 respondents about their readiness to donate oocytes for research.…”