van de Wiel Lucy (2020) Freezing Fertility: Oocyte Cryopreservation and the Gender Politics of Aging

Eggonomics: Vitrification and bioeconomies of egg donation in the United States and Spain

“…Advances in egg freezing technologies have revolutionized the egg donation industry (Cooper and Waldby, 2014; Inhorn, 2017; La Marca et al., 2020; Nahman, 2011, 2018; Pavone and Goven, 2017; van de Wiel, 2020; Waldby, 2015, 2019). The ability to freeze and store oocytes has profound implications for reproductive bioeconomies and oocyte distribution in both the United States and Spain and amplifies global fertility cold chains (Waldby, 2019; Vertommen et al., 2022).…”

“…Catherine Waldby illuminates how vitrification has led to new meanings of oocytes as biomedical objects and new models for distributing oocytes across borders (Waldby, 2019). In both the United States and Spain, oocyte vitrification has expanded the market for both donated oocytes and “elective egg freezing” for fertility preservation (Inhorn, 2017; van de Wiel, 2020; Waldby, 2019). Compared to fresh egg donation cycles, in these new distribution models frozen oocytes obtained from a single donor can be more easily distributed among multiple recipients, thereby expanding their reach through space and time (Álvarez Plaza and Galán, 2017; Tober, 2018).…”

“…Compared to fresh egg donation cycles, in these new distribution models frozen oocytes obtained from a single donor can be more easily distributed among multiple recipients, thereby expanding their reach through space and time (Álvarez Plaza and Galán, 2017; Tober, 2018). According to Lucy van de Wiel (2020), the ability to freeze and preserve oocytes not only transforms the temporal reality of human reproduction for people who freeze their own eggs but also expands the financialization and profitability of oocyte procurement and distribution. Within the context of egg donation, vitrification technology has transformed how donor eggs are procured, owned, and distributed through the clinic or egg bank, both locally and globally, with a concomitant rise in clinic profits.…”