Periodic Reporting for period 1 - InVitroFutures (In Vitro Futures: an Anthropological Study of Embryo Adoption between Canada and Spain)
Reporting period: 2023-04-01 to 2025-03-31
As soon as in vitro fertilization (IVF) was established in 1970, the practical legal and ethical question of embryos cryopreservation emerged. A single IVF cycle creates numerous embryos and, generally, a greater number of those that will be used for conception. Across the world, stored embryos are described as problematic, because a significant proportion of these are labelled as “surplus” for reproductive needs and remain cryopreserved indefinitely. These “extra embryos”, as biovalues, may be transferred immediately to other patients’ wombs, disposed of, or cryopreserved for embryo donation (ED).
InVitroFutures is built around 3 Research Objects.
RO1. Biomedical Issues, Moral Discourses, Salvific Logics. In the current framework of ED management, the line between the logics of gift-commodity, labour-donation, waste-value, property-entitlement in the reproductive bio-economy are increasingly blurred: in line with RO1, the research will explore and study how medical actions contribute to such blurring.
RO2. Regulations, Practices, Political Effects. To identify how these meanings and practices are influenced or promoted by social determinants such as nationality/country, bio-political institutions, gender-sexuality, class, race, in the presence or absence of a regulatory framework, this research requires the comparison between the two cases: ED in Spain and in Canada.
RO3. Relatedness in Embryo Donation. Inspired by the theoretical framework of kinning and de-kinning, this research will pursue RO3 by examining empirically the meanings and practices of family relatedness in the transition to parenthood of families created through ED, and the representations of embryo donors and receivers.
InVitroFutures is built around 3 Research Objects.
RO1. Biomedical Issues, Moral Discourses, Salvific Logics. In the current framework of ED management, the line between the logics of gift-commodity, labour-donation, waste-value, property-entitlement in the reproductive bio-economy are increasingly blurred: in line with RO1, the research will explore and study how medical actions contribute to such blurring.
RO2. Regulations, Practices, Political Effects. To identify how these meanings and practices are influenced or promoted by social determinants such as nationality/country, bio-political institutions, gender-sexuality, class, race, in the presence or absence of a regulatory framework, this research requires the comparison between the two cases: ED in Spain and in Canada.
RO3. Relatedness in Embryo Donation. Inspired by the theoretical framework of kinning and de-kinning, this research will pursue RO3 by examining empirically the meanings and practices of family relatedness in the transition to parenthood of families created through ED, and the representations of embryo donors and receivers.
For RO1 Biomedical Issues, Moral Discourses, Salvific Logics.
InVitroFutures explored both in Canada and in Spain how the healthcare staff and fertility clinics not only have an immediate medical impact, but they also alter the representation that patients have regarding the perceived biovalues of embryos. In this framework, InVitroFutures explored the shift that leftover IVF embryos undergo, from remaindered goods to repurposed ones. Particularly important was the knowledge related to Values Studies explored during the Secondment at C-SIC (IPP) of Madrid, Spain. I gathered the point of view of all the actors involved in embryo donation journeys (health personnel, donors, recipients) in Canada and Spain. I did it through 3 different fieldwork performed in Canada, USA and Spain. I mainly used in-depth interviews, participant observations within clinics and attending specialists’ workshops.
For RO2 Regulations, Practices, Political Effects. InVitroFutures identified how these meanings and practices are influenced or promoted by social determinants such as nationality/country, bio-political institutions, gender-sexuality, class, race, I set a comparative analysis between two cases: embryo donation in Spain and in Canada. It has been analysed, both in Canada and Spain, fertility laws, couts cases, fertility clinics websites, info consents, and contracts (when available, such in Canada but not in Spain).
For RO3 Relatedness in Embryo Donation. InVitroFutures examined empirically the meanings and practices of family relatedness in the transition to parenthood of families created through embryo donation both from embryo donors’ and recipients’ point of view, both in Canada and Spain.
InVitroFutures explored both in Canada and in Spain how the healthcare staff and fertility clinics not only have an immediate medical impact, but they also alter the representation that patients have regarding the perceived biovalues of embryos. In this framework, InVitroFutures explored the shift that leftover IVF embryos undergo, from remaindered goods to repurposed ones. Particularly important was the knowledge related to Values Studies explored during the Secondment at C-SIC (IPP) of Madrid, Spain. I gathered the point of view of all the actors involved in embryo donation journeys (health personnel, donors, recipients) in Canada and Spain. I did it through 3 different fieldwork performed in Canada, USA and Spain. I mainly used in-depth interviews, participant observations within clinics and attending specialists’ workshops.
For RO2 Regulations, Practices, Political Effects. InVitroFutures identified how these meanings and practices are influenced or promoted by social determinants such as nationality/country, bio-political institutions, gender-sexuality, class, race, I set a comparative analysis between two cases: embryo donation in Spain and in Canada. It has been analysed, both in Canada and Spain, fertility laws, couts cases, fertility clinics websites, info consents, and contracts (when available, such in Canada but not in Spain).
For RO3 Relatedness in Embryo Donation. InVitroFutures examined empirically the meanings and practices of family relatedness in the transition to parenthood of families created through embryo donation both from embryo donors’ and recipients’ point of view, both in Canada and Spain.
InVitroFutures explored how medical actions and narratives contribute to blur the lines between gift-commodity, labor-donation, waste-value, property-entitlement in the reproductive bioeconomy of embryo donation both in Canada and in Spain. In Canada:
- InVitroFutures explored variations in clinic policies, collecting different practices performed in Canada. An important aspect discovered through InVitroFutures project is the relevant transnational connection between Canada and the United States related to embryo donation. InVitroFutures discovered that this partially related to embryo donation management.
In Spain: One of the most crucial findings collected in the Spanish field relates to the management of so-called abandoned embryos. There is a complex embryos’ categorization that have impact on how embryos are managed by specialists. A lot of the so called “abandoned embryos” are donated for reproductive purposes without patients are notified after it about that.
- InVitroFutures explored variations in clinic policies, collecting different practices performed in Canada. An important aspect discovered through InVitroFutures project is the relevant transnational connection between Canada and the United States related to embryo donation. InVitroFutures discovered that this partially related to embryo donation management.
In Spain: One of the most crucial findings collected in the Spanish field relates to the management of so-called abandoned embryos. There is a complex embryos’ categorization that have impact on how embryos are managed by specialists. A lot of the so called “abandoned embryos” are donated for reproductive purposes without patients are notified after it about that.