Doctoral Dissertation Research Proposal - The Development of the Medical Market in Genetic Material: A Historical and Contemporary Analysis

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SES-0602871Gail KligmanRene AlmelingUniversity of California, Los AngelesTechnological interventions into reproduction have become increasingly sophisticated, requiring the participation of paid others far outside the confines of the physician/patient relationship This project examines the structure and experience of the market in genetic material. Currently, there is a proliferation of advertisements placed by organized donation programs whose paying clients use reproductive technologies to conceive children. This creates a market in genetic material. This study asks how gender norms, market processes and donation program type (university, medical practice, or commercial agency) intersect to shape the processes through which women and men are recruited, screened and compensated in organized donation programs. First, the historical development of the market in genetic material is examined through interviews with twenty founders of early donation programs and analysis of newspaper accounts, clinical journal articles, and regulatory materials. Second, the contemporary organization of the donation process is examined through interviews with thirty-five staff at six donation programs, observation in each program for two weeks, and analysis of program materials, including advertisements, informed consent forms, and legal contracts. Third, the experience of selling genetic material is examined through interviews with donors from these same programs and analysis of donor profiles posted on program websites. This dissertation research contributes to debates in (1) the sociology of gender about the relationship between biological differences among women and men and the gendered norms attributed to these differences, (2) economic sociology about how social factors affect the expansion of the market, and (3) medical sociology about the intersection of the market and medical practice.