1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910456659303321

Autore

Almeling Rene <1977->

Titolo

Sex cells [[electronic resource] ] : the medical market for eggs and sperm / / Rene Almeling

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Berkeley, : University of California Press, 2011

ISBN

1-283-27846-4

9786613278463

0-520-95022-4

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (240 p.)

Disciplina

381/.45618178

Soggetti

Artificial insemination, Human - Economic aspects

Artificial insemination, Human - Moral and ethical aspects

Infertility - Treatment - Economic aspects

Surrogate motherhood - Economic aspects

Electronic books.

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Nota di contenuto

Frontmatter -- Contents -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part One. Organizing the Market -- Part Two. Experiencing the Market -- 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

Sommario/riassunto

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.