Giving a Gift to the Gift: Women's Experiences of Embryo Donation in Japan

Abstract

The efforts of women are essential in embryo donation, as they undergo IVF treatment for ova collection. Yet research shows that in the process of embryo donation, women's efforts are largely neglected. This article attempts to understand the process by which women's efforts are neglected in embryo donation in light of gift theories, by looking at the situation in Japan. This article analyses narratives of 19 women who underwent IVF treatment. Interviews were conducted in Japan between 2006 and 2010. All women stated that they were reluctant to donate frozen embryos at the beginning of IVF treatment. Yet, as the treatment proceeded, half of those without children decided to donate frozen embryos, and, in 2010, most women with children decided to donate frozen embryos. What happened in the process? I hypothesise that, for women, the meaning of the concept of the embryo alters in the process of IVF treatment, as does their relationship with embryos. Simultaneously, as the meaning of embryo changes, women's perception of a gift transaction also changes, leading them to decide to donate embryos. How, then, do women experience changing meaning of embryos, and how do they finally decide to donate them? I suggest that this dynamic aspect of gift transaction experienced by women is a key to understanding why women feel neglected in embryo donation.

Keywords:

• Japan
• Women's experiences
• Embryo donation
• Gift transaction
• Motherhood ethics

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the editors of this special issue, Professor Margaret Sleeboom-Faulkner and Dr Anna-Meike Fechter, and two anonymous reviewers for the useful comments. I would also like to thank the International Institute for Asian Studies (IIAS) at Leiden University, the Netherlands, especially Sonja Sweegers for her advice in editing the text.