Browsing by Author "Pennings, G."

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    A comparative analysis of marketing materials used to recruit egg donors in Belgium, Spain and the United Kingdom (Poster).
    (2018-07) Culley, Lorraine; Hudson, Nicky; Coveney, C.; Herbrand, C.; Lafuente, S.; Pavone, V.; Pennings, G.
    Study question: How is egg donation framed in clinic marketing material used to recruit and/or inform potential egg donors in (Dutch speaking) Belgium, Spain and the UK? Summary answer: In Belgium, egg donation (ED) was constructed as an engagement that required considerable investment and entailed clear risks in contrast to Spain and the UK. What is known already: Across Europe, ED recruitment is performed in different ways. Some countries permit a range of advertising methods while others limit or completely prohibit any form of advertising relating to human bodily material (e.g. Belgium). Much of the existing research on recruitment of gamete donors comes from the US where market forces shape practice more directly. This paper focusses on Belgium, Spain and the UK – three countries that hold a stake in the growing global reproductive bio-economy and share features of technological innovation and expertise, but have adopted different regulatory positions in relation to the governance and marketing of ED. Study design, size, duration: An interdisciplinary team of researchers (bioethics, political economy, sociology) conducted a content analysis (including high frequency words analysis) as well as a comparative thematic analysis to consider ‘framing’ of egg donation in the data. Interdisciplinary auditing was used to challenge constructed categories and the conceptual framework at several points in the analysis. The findings were compared with country laws and informed consent rules and the implications for informed consent were studied. Participants: In Belgium, all Dutch language websites of centres were included compared to around 20 clinic websites in both Spain and the UK. For the latter countries, maximum variation sampling was used taking into account geographical location, number of cycles, and sector (public/private). In Belgium, ED is almost entirely situated in the publicly funded system whereas in Spain and the UK it is mainly performed in the private sector. Main results and the role of chance: In all three countries, ED recipients were presented as women whose fertility problems were no fault of their own, constructing a clear need for the donor to fulfil. Descriptions of medical profiles included ‘early menopause’ while natural menopause was absent. With regard to the act of donating, in Spain and the UK, words such as ‘sharing’, and ‘helping’ were considerably more frequently used compared to the Belgian data. Especially in Spain, ED was constructed as a form of solidarity between women nonetheless with a clear emphasis on the compensation. In Belgium, where clinic advertising is strictly regulated, ED was presented as requiring a considerable investment of time and energy from the donor. Potential egg donors in Belgium were repeatedly warned that the act was ‘not straightforward’ and ‘something to reflect about very carefully’. The Belgian material also appeared to be more focussed on risks and side effects than the Spain and UK material. The data were analysed within the policy context of the countries. We will discuss the possible impact of the public/private sector setting and of the Belgian ban on advertising for the way ED is framed and the implications of the differences in marketing material for informed consent. Limitations, reasons for caution: The results are limited to three countries, and to a (well considered) selection of clinics, therefore precluding generalisation to whole countries. Further research will be needed on the effects of recruitment discourses on potential donors in order to generate more general conclusions and recommendations. Wider implications of the findings: These results can contribute to a more complete understanding of the recruitment of egg donors as a practice that depends on specific discourses and is embedded in particular policy contexts. The identification of problematic framing of marketing material is crucial in terms of safeguarding true informed consent of donors.
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    Egg providers' views on the use of surplus eggs in the UK, Spain and Belgium: implications for information giving and informed consent (POSTER)
    (2019-06) Hudson, Nicky; Culley, Lorraine; Herbrand, C.; Weis, Christina; Coveney, C.; Goethals, T.; Lafuente, S.; Pavone, V.; Pennings, G.; Provoost, V.
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    Gifting, sharing, donating, helping: tracing discourses of altruism and medical need in clinics' recruitment of egg providers
    (2018-09) Hudson, Nicky; Culley, Lorraine; Coveney, C.; Lafuente, S.; Herbrand, C.; Provoost, V.; Pavone, V.; Pennings, G.
    Fertility treatment using donor eggs is a growing phenomenon, with over 40,000 cycles performed across Europe per year. European regulations stipulate that in advertising for women to come forward as egg providers, promotional materials must uphold the principles of voluntary and unpaid donation (VUD). This is interpreted differently between countries with some permitting a range of advertising methods and others limiting or prohibiting any form of advertising relating to human bodily material. This paper examines how egg donation is framed in fertility clinic marketing and recruitment discourse as a particular form of bodily donation associated with the treatment of infertility. It draws on a sample of 58 fertility clinic websites across the UK, Belgium and Spain and analysed using a combination of content analysis and frame analysis. We examine the ways in which clinic marketing materials present a particular version of what egg donation involves and an image of the type of woman who acts as an egg donor. We suggest that clinic websites are important cultural spaces that manage the tensions of the market and the logics of altruism within the European context. We illustrate how the promissory potential of donor eggs and associated ‘cure narratives’ are drawn from a distinctly biomedicalised and individualised imaginary which renders egg provision as a noble and socially essential action. In this way egg donation can be framed as a culturally valued practice that should be separated from the logics of the market.
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    Re-thinking egg donation in Europe: expanding practice, extending boundaries.
    (2019-08-20) Hudson, Nicky; Culley, Lorraine; Coveney, C.; Herbrand, C.; Pavone, V.; Lafuente, S.; Pennings, G.; Provoost, V.; Weis, Christina
    The expansion of the use of donor eggs in fertility treatment has been exponential. Whilst the majority of egg donation historically took place in the US, donor eggs are used in over 56, 000 cycles of fertility treatment per year in Europe and a number of European egg donation ‘hubs’ have emerged, for example in Spain and Cyprus. Growth in the use of donor eggs in part reflects a changing profile amongst users of assisted reproductive technologies, including growing numbers of older women, male same sex couples, and those at risk from genetic conditions. An increasing number of egg donor ‘intermediaries’ such as egg banks and agencies have also emerged in the European context, reflecting a general shift towards an increasingly commercialised landscape around fertility treatment provision. Despite these changes, few studies have specifically considered their implications. Drawing on an ESRC-funded study on the economic, political and moral configuration of egg donation in the UK, Spain and Belgium, we suggest that changes in the ways egg donation is provided in the European context are worthy of increased attention. Data from policy mapping and interviews with policy stakeholders and professionals illustrate significant shifts in professional and commercial practice. These changes are reshaping the intersubjective, political and social boundaries involved in egg donation in novel and complex ways. We suggest that the expansion and diversification of its use has implications for the policy and regulation of egg donation the European context.