Gamete donation: parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor siblings and donor
1 Centre for Family Research, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RF, UK 2 Donor Sibling Registry, PO Box 1571, Nederland CO 80466, USA
3 Correspondence address. Centre for Family Research, Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, University of Cambridge, Free School Lane, Cambridge CB2 3RF, UK. E-mail: trf23{at}cam.ac.uk
BACKGROUND: This study investigates the new phenomenon of parents of donor offspring searching for and contacting their child's ‘donor siblings’ (i.e. donor offspring conceived by the same donor) and donor.
METHODS: Online questionnaires were completed by 791 parents (39% lone-mother, 35% lesbian-couple, 21% heterosexual-couple, 5% non-specified) recruited via the Donor Sibling Registry; a US-based international registry that facilitates contact between donor conception families who share the same donor. Data were collected on parents' reasons for searching for their child's donor siblings and/or donor, the outcome of these searches and parents' and their child's experiences of any resulting contact.
RESULTS: Parents' principal motivation for searching for their child's donor siblings was curiosity and for their donor, enhancing their child's sense of identity. Some parents had discovered large numbers of donor siblings (maximum = 55). Most parents reported positive experiences of contacting and meeting their child's donor siblings and donor.
CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights that having access to information about a child's donor origins is important for some parents and has potentially positive consequences. These findings have wider implications because the removal of donor anonymity in the UK and elsewhere means that increasing numbers of donor offspring are likely to seek contact with their donor relations in the future.
Key words: donor conception/parent/children/sibling/donor
Submitted on May 20, 2008; resubmitted on November 19, 2008; accepted on December 3, 2008.
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