Refining Methodological Reflection: Exploring the Interviewing Experience of Oocyte Donors

Abstract

The article reflects on the collaborative experience between a practicing psychologist actively involved in the oocyte donation protocol (participating in guide development, conducting interviews, and drawing conclusions for the clinic) and a philologist who interprets the interview transcripts using narrative and communicative situation analyses. The article begins by describing the interviewing process, the structure of the oocyte-donor guide, and the profile of a “stable donor,” drawing from Russian-language materials. Through narrative analysis of 21 transcripts, the roles of the interviewer and informant at each stage of the interview process are identified, along with their contributions to the discussion and testing of the communicative situation. The paper investigates both the instances of cooperation and discrepancies observed among the participants as they strive to construct a credible and value-consistent autobiographical narrative that comprehensively encompasses their donation experience. The article analyzes both explicit and hidden narrative motives placed by informants in a conversation unfolding from the respondent’s past into a projected future. The authors aim to situate this experience within a broader personal value context, which includes compensatory aspects related to the pressing concerns of potential donors.