Investigating the cultural, political and moral framing of egg donation: an interdisciplinary study of the UK, Belgium and Spain.

Donated eggs are now used in over 25,000 IVF treatment cycles in Europe, creating over 7000 babies per year yet evidence about the motivation, decision making and experiences of women who provide eggs, the views of clinicians, or the role of newly emerging intermediaries in the growing transnational market in human reproduction remains partial. The growing provision of eggs by some women for use in the reproductive projects of others is the subject of fierce political and ethical debate and presents a number of dilemmas for practice and policy. Drawing on a current, ESRC-funded study of three European cases, this paper explores the ways in which egg donation is framed in social, political and moral terms the UK, Spain and Belgium. These three countries hold a stake in the growing global reproductive bio-economy and share features of technological innovation and expertise, but have each adopted differing regulatory positions in relation to the governance of egg donation, especially with regards its marketing, levels of financial compensation for donors, and their identifiability. Presenting data collected in each country via interviews with policy representatives, mapping of national policy documents and textual analysis of marketing materials, the paper uses the concept of ‘framing’ (Fischer 2003) to explore how egg donation is constructed and prioritised at the national level. We suggest that a comparison of how the issue is selected, organised and interpreted in differing national contexts can generate an enhanced understanding of egg donation as a social, political, economic and moral practice