‘Spreading love’ or ‘working holiday’? The narrative of altruistic rhetorics, financial motivations, and risks in domestic and transnational Taiwanese egg donation

Abstract

This study investigates the narratives of egg donation (ED) in Taiwan and transnational contexts. Although commercial ED is prohibited in Taiwan, legally fixed compensation remains relatively high (USD 3000). Internationally, ED is a profitable segment of the fertility industry, driving cross-border donor recruitment. Targeted donors are typically young women who, while economically precarious, are valued for their biocapital, namely, high-quality oocytes. Despite this, many receive limited information about the health risks associated with hormone stimulation and oocyte retrieval. Drawing on 362 user-generated posts (2018–2025) from a Taiwanese online forum, alongside content from the websites of 40 domestic fertility clinics and six transnational ED brokers, this study conducts a thematic analysis of recruitment strategies and donor responses. Key themes include donor representation, eligibility, medical procedures, compensation, and the (non-)disclosure of health risks. Findings reveal a complex entanglement of commodification and decommodification across both domestic and cross-border ED contexts. In Taiwan, clinics typically use altruistic narratives to frame ED, while donors describe it as a meaningful act of care or ‘spreading love’, rather than reproductive labour. In contrast, cross-border ED is more explicitly tied to capitalist logics, often depicted as a profitable ‘working holiday’, reinforcing racialised commodification. Importantly, financial motivation and altruistic rhetoric are not mutually exclusive; instead, they operate in tandem to construct socially acceptable narratives that mitigate stigma and imbue ED with emotional and moral significance. The study recommends mandating comprehensive risk disclosure in Taiwan and developing transnational regulatory frameworks to reduce the legal and health risks of cross-border ED.