Racialized Commodities: Race and Value in Human Egg Donation

What is the relationship between race and value in human egg donation? Drawing on ethnographic and textual sources, I explore the construction of race and the commodification of eggs in human egg donation, in order to show the intersections of race and market value in the fertility industry. Focusing on egg donation among Asian Americans – which is the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and has high rates of assisted reproductive technology usage – I argue that actors involved in egg donation construct race along a spectrum, mobilizing race in diverse ways with respect to particular desires for family formation.