My research explores the social, political, cultural, and emotional dimensions of organ and bodily fluid donation—including kidneys, corneas, sperm, and human milk. I examine the complex processes embedded in these acts of donation, which navigate the tensions between deep intimacy and medical-bureaucratic regulation, and between personal experiences of loss and trauma and broader ideals of altruism, morality, and social responsibility.

The research focuses on the shifting boundaries of the body—as a biological, ethical, and social entity—and investigates how donation practices are shaped by, and help sustain, discourses of identity, gender, ethics, belonging, and hope. I am particularly interested in the symbolic meanings attributed to both donor and recipient bodies, the social negotiation of who is deemed “worthy” of receiving, and the ways in which donation reshapes relationships between individuals, institutions, and communities.

Within my research group, I supervise two PhD students and three MA thesis students, each exploring these questions from different angles—including public attitudes toward organ and fluid donation, lived experiences of donors and recipients, embodied forms of memorialization, moral narratives around altruistic giving, and the complexities of donation within diverse social groups.