Assisted reproductive technologies, the Internet and information seeking: a case study of Australian women using peer online forums to seek donor eggs across borders

Abstract

The Internet is an increasingly significant source of information for people seeking health information. Peer to peer posts on online fertility forums are a critical information source. However, little is known about the use of these forums by women seeking fertility treatment. In particular, online information sourced by women seeking to travel internationally to be recipients of cross border egg donation has been rarely studied. The aim of this study is to explore what information was sought and offered in peer fertility egg recipient forums to provide insights into the motivations and other considerations of Australian women seeking overseas egg donation. In doing so we seek to understand the use of technology by women – both the Internet and assisted reproductive technologies – as an aid to engage strangers in intimate decision-making concerning reproductive choice.

Keywords:

• Assisted reproductive technology
• infertility
• cross-border reproductive care
• information
• Internet forum
• online discussion
• egg donation
• egg recipient

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Rachel Carr and Michaela Stockey-Bridge for their research assistance on this article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 IVF: In Vitro Fertilization; USA: United States of America; PGD: Preimplantation genetic screening or diagnosis; TSH: thyroid-stimulating hormone; FSH: follicle-stimulating hormone; AMH: Anti-Mullerian Hormone; ICSI: Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. The material upon which this project is based is publicly available from the Bubhub Internet website: https://www.bubhub.com.au/index.php.

2 Not all posts identify the gender of the participant, however, it is safe to say that in the majority of cases the participants identify themselves in the posts as women or this is clear from the statements they have made. It is also the case that the individuals posting seeking information about travel from Australia either reside in Australia or are Australian citizens – hence the reference to ‘Australian women’.

Additional information

Funding

This study is funded by Australian Research Council Discovery Project grant [ARC DP 1510157].

Notes on contributors

Anita Stuhmcke

Professor Stuhmcke is a Professor of Law at the University of Technology Sydney. Her areas of academic interest are public access and social change across health law and dispute resolution - and the intersection of these legal topics. With respect to health law she is widely published across the fields of assisted reproduction and surrogacy and has sustained engagement with law reform and influenced the development of law and policy in this area.

Jenni Millbank

Distinguished Professor Millbank is a leading international expert on gender, sexuality and health law. Her research reaches across family, reproduction and human rights law making a distinctive contribution to broadening legal understandings of family and developing new approaches to relationship recognition in law.

Isabel Karpin

Distinguished Professor Karpin is a leading international expert on the bioethical implications of laws governing reproductive technologies, genetic testing and disability. She explores the challenge posed by new biotechnological developments on legal understandings of normality, disability, individuality, and family.