Sex Cells - The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm

1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-0-520-27095-4
Verlag: University of California Press

Buch, Englisch, 240 Seiten, Cloth Over Boards, Format (B × H): 166 mm x 232 mm, Gewicht: 448 g

Unimaginable until the twentieth century, the clinical practice of transferring eggs and sperm from body to body is now the basis of a bustling market. In Sex Cells, Rene Almeling provides an inside look at how egg agencies and sperm banks do business. Although both men and women are usually drawn to donation for financial reasons, Almeling finds that clinics encourage sperm donors to think of the payments as remuneration for an easy "job." Women receive more money but are urged to regard egg donation in feminine terms, as the ultimate "gift" from one woman to another. Sex Cells shows how the gendered framing of paid donation, as either a job or a gift, not only influences the structure of the market, but also profoundly affects the individuals whose genetic material is being purchased.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Almeling, Rene

Fachgebiete

• Medizin | Veterinärmedizin Medizin | Public Health | Pharmazie | Zahnmedizin Medizin, Gesundheitswesen Public Health, Gesundheitsmanagement, Gesundheitsökonomie, Gesundheitspolitik
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Spezielle Soziologie Gesundheitssoziologie, Medizinsoziologie
• Wirtschaftswissenschaften Volkswirtschaftslehre Gesundheitsökonomie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Acknowledgments 

Introduction 
PART I ORGANIZING THE MARKET
1. Characterizing the Material 
2. Selling Genes, Selling Gender 

PART II EXPERIENCING THE MARKET
3. Producing Eggs and Sperm 
4. Being a Paid Donor 
5. Defining Connections 
Conclusion 

Appendix A: Egg and Sperm Donors’
Characteristics at Time of Interview 
Appendix B: Demographics of Donors Based on Profiles at Egg and Sperm Donation Programs 

Notes 
Bibliography 
Index

Über Autor(innen)

Rene Almeling is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Yale University.