Diane Tober, PhD

Assistant Adjunct Professor, Institute for Health and Aging

Dr. Tober is a cultural and medical anthropologist with a focus on gender and sexuality, the commodification of the body, science and technology studies, bioethics, and social and reproductive justice. She has been conducting research exploring egg donors’ decisions and experiences within the global market for human eggs since 2013. With funding from theNational Science Foundation, she is comparing egg donation in the United States and Spain. With a recent award from the UCSF National Center of Excellence for Research on Women, offered through The Bixby Center, she is launching a new study to compare the decisions and experiences of egg donors and egg freezers. She has conducted field research in Iran, Spain, and the United States.

Her first book, Romancing the Sperm: Shifting Biopolitics and the Making of Modern Families (2018), explores the intersections between the sperm banking industry, the men who provide sperm, and the single women and lesbian couples who use donor sperm to conceive a child. Tracing the changes in use of Assisted Reproductive Technologies from the 1990s to today, Romancing the Sperm investigates the role technology plays in the changing meanings of family.

In addition to her research, she is also producer/director of the documentary film, The Perfect Donor, currently in post production. Her work has been supported by the National Science Foundation, The Social Science Research Council, The University of California, San Francisco, and American Institute for Iranian Studies, among others.

 

Areas of interest:

  • Assisted reproductive technologies
  • Reproductive health and decision-making
  • Bioethics
  • Social and reproductive justice

 

Education:

  • PhD in Medical Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley, and UCSF joint program 

 

In the news:

 

Publications: 
  1. Egg donor self-reports of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome: severity by trigger type, oocytes retrieved, and prior history. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2023 Jun; 40(6):1291-1304. Tober DM, Richter K, Zubizarreta D, Daneshmand S. PMID: 37347350; PMCID: PMC10310641.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:HumansCells
  2. P-565 Egg donor perceptions of anonymity and ancestry testing in the United States and Spain. Human Reproduction. 2023 Jun 22; 38(Supplement_1). Tober TD, Jociles Rubio JM, Konvalinka KN, Simms SS. .
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  3. Eggonomics: Vitrification and bioeconomies of egg donation in the United States and Spain. Med Anthropol Q. 2023 09; 37(3):248-263. Tober D, Pavone V, Lafuente-Funes S, Konvalinka N. PMID: 37229598.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions:    Fields:    Translation:Humans
  4. OUTCOMES OF DONOR OOCYTE RETRIEVALS FOR RECIPIENT IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) PATIENTS ARE UNAFFECTED BY COVID-19 VACCINATION. Fertility and Sterility. 2022 Oct 25; 118(4):e26-e27. Daneshmand DS, Richter RK, Medrud MR, Diaz DK, Rio RJ, Tober TD, Kokjohn KS. .
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  5. ONE EPISODE OF SEVERE OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME (OHSS) IN AN OOCYTE DONOR INDICATES HIGH RISK FOR REOCCURRING SEVERE OHSS IN SUBSEQUENT OOCYTE DONATION CYCLES. Fertility and Sterility. 2022 Oct 1; 118(4):e314. Tober TD, Richter RK, Kokjohn KS, Daneshmand DS. .
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  6. ATTITUDES AMONG OOCYTE DONORS TOWARD A DONOR REGISTRY. Fertility and Sterility. 2021 Sep 1; 116(3):e431. Tober TD, Richter RK, Cook CK, Kokjohn KS, Daneshmand DS, Zou ZH. .
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  7. PReferences AMONG OOCYTE DONORS FOR ANONYMOUS VERSUS NON-ANONYMOUS DONATION. Fertility and Sterility. 2021 Sep 1; 116(3):e435-e436. Tober TD, Richter RK, Cook CK, Kokjohn KS, Daneshmand DS. .
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  8. ATTITUDES AMONG OOCYTE DONORS REGARDING POTENTIAL OPTION FOR CONCURRENT FERTILITY PRESERVATION. Fertility and Sterility. 2021 Sep 1; 116(3):e38. Tober TD, Richter RK, Cook CK, Zou ZH, Kokjohn KS, Daneshmand DS. .
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  9. VALUE OF PREIMPLANTATION GENETIC TESTING FOR ANEUPLOIDY (PGT-A) IN THE CONTEXT OF IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) USING DONOR OOCYTES. Fertility and Sterility. 2021 Sep 1; 116(3):e401. Daneshmand DS, Richter RK, Gu GR, Miller MD, Tober TD, Lin LM, Rio RJ, Agashe AR, Deland DJ, Kokjohn KS. .
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  10. OOCYTE DONORS’ EXPERIENCES AND SATISFACTION WITH POST-DONATION RELATIONSHIPS WITH RELATIVES, FRIENDS, AND PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN OOCYTE RECIPIENTS. Fertility and Sterility. 2021 Sep 1; 116(3):e434. Tober TD, Richter RK, Cook CK, Zou ZH, Kokjohn KS, Daneshmand DS. .
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  11. Emotion, embodiment, and reproductive colonialism in the global human egg trade. Gender Work and Organization. 2021 Mar 6; 28(5):1766-1786. Tober TD, Kroløkke KC. .
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  12. Emotion, Embodiment, and Reproductive Colonialism in the Global Human Egg Trade. Gender, Work and Organization. 2021. Diane Tober and Charlotte Kroløkke. . View Publication.
  13. Fertility and Sterility. Subjective psychological factors associated with egg donors undergoing additional donations after their first donation cycle. 2021; 114(3):e276. Diane Tober, PhD, Kevin S. Richter, PhD, Shannon Kokjohn, MSc, Dougie Zubizarreta, BA, Katarina Cook, BS, Said Daneshmand, MD . View Publication.
  14. Sociology of Health and Illness. Review: C. Kroløkke, Global Fluids: The Cultural Politics of Reproductive Waste and Value. 2020. Diane Tober. . View Publication.
  15. Kroløkke C. Global Fluids: The Cultural Politics of Reproductive Waste and Value. New York/Oxford: Berghahn Books. 2018. 206 pp. $120/£89.00 (cloth), $29.95 (ebk) ISBN: 978-1-78533-892-2. Sociology of Health & Illness. 2020 Nov 20; 43(1):258-259. Tober TD. .
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  16. The Oocyte Economy: The Changing Meaning of Human Eggs. Contemporary Sociology A Journal of Reviews. 2020 Nov 1; 49(6):542-544. Tober TD. .
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  17. Alignment between expectations and experiences of egg donors: what does it mean to be informed?. Reproductive Biomedicine and Society Online. 2020; 12(2021):1-13. Diane Tober, Christina Garibaldi, Alden Blair, Kimberly Baltzell. View Publication.
  18. SUBJECTIVE PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EGG DONORS UNDERGOING ADDITIONAL DONATIONS AFTER THEIR FIRST OOCYTE DONOR CYCLE. Fertility and Sterility. 2020 Sep 1; 114(3):e276. Tober TD, Richter RK, Kokjohn KS, Garibaldi GC, Cool CR, Mostak MK, Villegas VN, Zubizarreta ZC, Cook CK, Daneshmand DS. .
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  19. PRE-TREATMENT PREDICTORS OF EGG DONORS WHO WILL UNDERGO ADDITIONAL OOCYTE DONATIONS AFTER THEIR FIRST. Fertility and Sterility. 2020 Sep 1; 114(3):e279. Tober TD, Richter RK, Kokjohn KS, Villegas VN, Zubizarreta ZC, Garibaldi GC, Mostak MK, Cook CK, Cool CR, Daneshmand DS. .
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  20. FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF OVARIAN HYPERSTIMULATION SYNDROME (OHSS) AMONG OOCYTE DONORS ACCORDING TO TRIGGER TYPE AND NUMBER OF OOCYTES RETRIEVED. Fertility and Sterility. 2020 Sep 1; 114(3):e463. Tober TD, Richter RK, Garibaldi GC, Mostak MK, Kokjohn KS, Cool CR, Zubizarreta ZC, Villegas VN, Cook CK, Daneshmand DS. .
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  21. EGG DONOR PERCEPTIONS OF LONG-TERM ADVERSE OUTCOMES. Fertility and Sterility. 2020 Sep 1; 114(3):e278-e279. Tober TD, Richter RK, Garibaldi GC, Mostak MK, Villegas VN, Zubizarreta ZC, Cool CR, Cook CK, Kokjohn KS, Daneshmand DS. .
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  22. CLINICAL FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH EGG DONORS UNDERGOING ADDITIONAL OOCYTE DONATIONS AFTER THEIR FIRST DONOR CYCLE. Fertility and Sterility. 2020 Sep 1; 114(3):e270. Tober TD, Richter RK, Kokjohn KS, Villegas VN, Cook CK, Cool CR, Mostak MK, Garibaldi GC, Zubizarreta ZC, Daneshmand DS. .
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  23. Fertility and Sterility. Frequency and Severity of Ovarian Hyperstimulation Syndrome (OHSS) Among Oocyte Donors According to Trigger Type and Number of Eggs Retrieved. 2020; 114(3). Diane Tober, PhD, Kevin S. Richter, PhD, Cristina Garibaldi, MS, Kezia Mostak, MSShannon Kokjohn, MSc, Raquel Cool, BA, Dougie Zubizarreta, BA, Natalia Villegas, BS, Katarina Cook, BS, Said Daneshmand, MD ?. View Publication.
  24. Fertility and Sterility. Egg donor perceptions of long-term adverse outcomes. 2020; 114(3):e278-e279. Diane Tober, PhD, Kevin S. Richter, PhD, Cristina Garibaldi, MS, Kezia Mostak, MS, Natalia Villegas, BS, Dougie Zubizarreta, BA, Raquel Cool, BA, Katarina Cook, BS, Shannon Kokjohn, MSc, Said Daneshmand, MD . View Publication.
  25. Social Forces. Review of “Between Families and Frankenstein: The Politics of Egg Donation in the United States”. 2019. Diane Tober. . View Publication.
  26. Romancing the Sperm: Shifting Biopolitics and the Making of Modern Families. 2019; 240. Diane Tober. . View Publication.
  27. Las bioeconomías de la provisión de óvulos en Estados Unidos y en España: una comparación de los mercados médicos y las implicaciones en la atención a las donantes. Revista de Antropología Social. 2018 Dec 13; 27(2):261-286. Tober TD, Pavone PV. .
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  28. Evaluating the capacity of California's publicly funded universities to provide medication abortion. Contraception. 2018 10; 98(4):306-311. Raifman S, Anderson P, Kaller S, Tober D, Grossman D. PMID: 29778584.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 3     Fields:    
  29. Las bioeconomías de la provisión de óvulos en Estados Unidos y en España: una comparación de los mercados médicos y las implicaciones en la atención a las donantes. Revista de Anthropologia Social. 2018; 2(27):261-286. Diane Tober and Vincenzo Pavone. . View Publication.
  30. Introduction: Why Islam, Health and the Body?. Body & Society. 2007 Sep 1; 13(3):1-13. Tober TD, Budiani BD. .
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  31. Kidneys and Controversies in the Islamic Republic of Iran: The Case of Organ Sale. Body & Society. 2007 Sep 1; 13(3):151-170. Tober TD. .
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  32. “My Body Is Broken Like My Country”: Identity, Nation, and Repatriation among Afghan Refugees in Iran. Iranian Studies. 2007 Apr 16; 40(2):263-285. Tober TD. .
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  33. Introduction: Afghan Refugees and Returnees. Iranian Studies. 2007 Apr 16; 40(2):133-135. Tober TD. .
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  34. “My Body is Broken Like My Country”: Identity, Nation, and Repatriation among Afghan Refugees in Iran. Iranian Studies. 2007; 2(40). Tober, DM.
  35. "Fewer children, better life" or "as many as God wants"? Family planning among low-income Iranian and Afghan refugee families in Isfahan, Iran. Med Anthropol Q. 2006 Mar; 20(1):50-71. Tober DM, Taghdisi MH, Jalali M. PMID: 16612993.
    View in: PubMed   Mentions: 7     Fields:    Translation:HumansPHPublic Health
  36. Children in the Field and the Methodological Challenges of Research in Iran. Iranian Studies. 2004; 4(37):643. Tober, DM.
  37. Parents’ conceptualization of their frozen embryos complicates the disposition decision. Fertility and Sterility. 2003 Sep 1; 80:49. Nachtigall NR, Becker BG, Tober TD, Friese FC, Butler BA. .
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  38. Parents' Conceptualization of their Frozen Embryos. Fertility and Sterility. 2003; 3(80):49. Nachtigall R, Becker G, Tober D, Friese C, Butler A.
  39. Semen as Gift, Semen as Goods: Reproductive Workers and the Market in Altruism. Body & Society. 2001 Sep 1; 7(2-3):137-160. Tober TD. .
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  40. Semen as Gift, Semen as Goods: Reproductive Workers and the Market in Altruism. Body and Society. 2001; 7(2-3):137. Tober, Diane M .