about
More people are conceiving children using donated eggs than ever before, but very little is known about the women who provide those eggs, and how their experience of donation affects their bodies and lives. What we do know is that egg donation is a complex experience in which donors want to help people build their families, but are often not informed about risks, and may be treated as a means to the reproductive ends of others.
This project is the first large-scale study of egg donation in Canada. Our goal is to work with egg donors to chronicle their stories, and to improve relevant law and public policy. In 2022 and 2023, we interviewed 53 people who donated eggs in Canadian clinics. We are analyzing the data and will make results available as soon as possible.
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Ova Obscura is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada’s Insight Program. Additional funding is provided by the Canada Research Chair in the Politics of Reproduction, with support from the University of Waterloo.
about the images
All of the images on the website, and used in relevant presentations, were created by Lydia Li, a Toronto-based designer and illustrator.
(She is updating her website and portfolio, but we will provide the new ones as soon as we can!)