title: Conceiving wholeness: women, motherhood, and ovarian transplantation, 1902 and 2004.
abstract: Scholars have shown that organ transplantation may transform ideas about one's body, with recipients feeling that they are receiving not just a body part but also a part of the donor's identity. This article focuses on a different way in which organ transplantation shapes recipient identity: the idea of becoming whole. We present the case studies of two women separated by a century (one in 1902 and the other in 2004) who sought ovarian transplantation, and examine how ovarian transplantation can engender a sense of wholeness on the individual, the familial, and the cultural levels, due to its ability to enable a recipient to naturally conceive and experience pregnancy.
authors.affiliation: Medical Humanities and Bioethics Program, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, 750 N. Lake Shore Drive, Suite 625, Chicago, IL 60611, USA. srodriguez@northwestern.edu
authors.forename: Sarah B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Rodriguez
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Campo-Engelstein
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D005306:Fertilization; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D007247:Infertility, Female / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D009035:Mothers; D016377:Organ Transplantation / Q000266:history* / Q000379:methods; D010053:Ovary / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation*; D011247:Pregnancy; D013737:Testis / Q000637:transplantation; D014019:Tissue Donors