title: Once you're choosing, nobody's perfect: is more information necessarily better in oocyte donor selection?
abstract: Despite a growing body of research examining the psychosocial issues involved in oocyte donation, few studies have examined the role of information in the process of donor selection. The aim of this interview-based qualitative study was to understand how donor oocyte recipients relate to information provided about potential oocyte donors, how they use this information to select donors and their preferences for, and reactions to, various types of information provided to them. Donor oocyte recipients who underwent treatment between 1995 and 2011 were recruited for participation from an academic centre for reproductive medicine. Twenty-two oocyte donor recipients participated. Findings indicate that recipients use information to select donors who they believe would enable them to fulfill their priorities: having a healthy child and 'passing' as genetically related. Obtaining more specific information prompted a focus on donor imperfections and presented a burden of choosing. Moreover, for participants preferring distance, having more information created dilemmas by making the donors less abstract. Although more information and options are often desired by oocyte donor recipients, increased choice can also present psychological dilemmas and emotional costs. Further research is needed to investigate the influence of information-related conflicts on patient decision-making, post-treatment emotional adjustment and disclosure decisions.
authors.affiliation: New School for Social Research, Department of Psychology, New York, NY 10011, USA.
authors.forename: Lisa R
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Rubin
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College, Division of Medical Ethics, New York, NY 10065, USA. Electronic address: imd2001@med.cornell.edu.
authors.forename: Inmaculada
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de Melo-Martin
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College, The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Zev
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Rosenwaks
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College, The Ronald O. Perelman and Claudia Cohen Center for Reproductive Medicine, New York, NY 10065, USA.
authors.forename: Ina N
authors.initials: IN
authors.lastname: Cholst
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003219:Confidentiality; D033001:Directed Tissue Donation; D046148:Donor Selection / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D066296:Grounded Theory; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D007406:Interview, Psychological; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City; D018587:Oocyte Donation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D009865:Oocytes / Q000502:physiology*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014019:Tissue Donors
keywords: donor selection; information use; oocyte donation; qualitative