Paper short abstract:

My presentation focuses on embryo donation matching practices of Canadian families built thanks to embryo donation by analyzing how boundaries between the ‘like’ and the ‘unlike’ are contested and (re)defined by IVF specialists, embryo donors and receivers.

Paper long abstract:

The Canadian Assisted Human Reproduction Act does not explicitly mention embryo donation, as it does for sperm and eggs. However, it permits patients to provide consent for different provisions involving already created embryos: from enhancement of assisted reproduction techniques to third-party reproductive treatments. In Canada, compared to other IVF-related topics, little research has focused on embryos cryopreserved for potential future use. The existing literature analyzed making decisions about the fate of surplus cryopreserved embryos (Cattapan, Doyle 2015), and it also showed how embryo research regulation has been undertaken autonomously by medical and scientific professionals (Cattapan 2017).

This paper shows preliminary findings from ethnographic research on embryo donation in Canada. Very few Canadian clinics offer anonymous embryo donation programs, and there exists only one national agency which, on the contrary, promotes an open embryo donation model. Due to long waits and various bureaucratic difficulties, many Canadians often seek private matches through social media platforms, and some of these involve US donors and facilities. My presentation focuses on embryo donation matching practices of families built thanks to embryo donation by analyzing how boundaries between the ‘like’ and the ‘unlike’ are contested and (re)defined by IVF specialists, embryo donors and receivers. I show what kind of influence is exerted by fertility specialists in some situations, and what power dynamics are present in other situations. Particularly interesting will be comparing how genetic primacy - in this case represented by fully genetically related offspring - is problematized within anonymous donations, private matches, and open donations.