Suitable substances: how biobanks (re)store biologicals

Abstract

Biobanks connected to In Vitro Fertilization hospitals do not merely function as repositories for biologicals. They also contribute to the restoration of reproductive substances to distinct social environments. Cases of commercial gamete donation in India often entail the infringement of social boundaries, as the socioeconomic backgrounds of gamete donors and recipients diverge. In a highly stratified society, biobanks perform “relational work” in order to nevertheless enable the transaction of substances. The selection of donors, the secluded laboratory, medical protocols, bureaucratic procedures, policies of anonymity, and rhetorical devices all reconfigure intimate material provided by specific donors into standardized products and relatable entities, thereby augmenting their economic value. The fact that relational work is not only performed on substances but also on suppliers and biodata sheets invites more general reflections about notions of “the living” or “the biological” in biobanks around the world.

Keywords

• biobanks
• biological substances
• relational work
• value
• in vitro fertilization
• india