The reproductive silk route: transnational mobility of oocytes from Europe to Brazil

Abstract

Assisted human reproduction has been deterritorialised into reproductive connectivity networks capable of adapting to contradictory laws, technological development and the mobility of people, reproductive substances, knowledge and capital. We reflect on the reproductive market and the dynamic capacity of cross-border reproductive care (CBRC), thanks to oocyte vitrification for egg donation, and on the legislative gaps that favour these flows. The purpose of the present study is to show the reproductive flows of oocytes from Europe to Brazil, which seem to have erratic route changes, leaving Spain and passing through other European countries, where they are stored, before arriving in Brazil. We carried out a qualitative study, based on documentary analysis of Brazilian Ministry of Health records on oocyte importation, the EU Coding Platform (System for Tissues and Cells), 10 in-depth interviews with key informants and legislative analysis on reproductive technologies in Spain, Brazil, Slovakia and Italy. This flow of oocytes underscores the flexibility and adaptability of transnational reproductive care.