Skip Navigation


Hum. Reprod. Advance Access originally published online on June 4, 2007
Human Reproduction 2007 22(8):2318-2324; doi:10.1093/humrep/dem138
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF ) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
22/8/2318    most recent
dem138v1
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Kirkman, M.
Right arrow Articles by Johnson, L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Kirkman, M.
Right arrow Articles by Johnson, L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Families working it out: adolescents' views on communicating about donor-assisted conception

Maggie Kirkman1,3, Doreen Rosenthal1 and Louise Johnson2

1 Key Centre for Women's Health in Society, The University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia 2 Infertility Treatment Authority, Victoria 3000, Australia

3 Correspondence address. Tel: +613 9347 9824; Fax: +613 8344 4333; E-mail: m.kirkman{at}unimelb.edu.au

BACKGROUND: Prompted by legislation in Victoria, Australia, permitting gamete donors to seek identifying details of people conceived from their gametes, this research investigated the views of adolescents from the general population on how parents can best talk to their donor-conceived adolescent children about their conception.

METHODS: Qualitative interviews (six group discussions, n = two to six per group, and one individual interview) lasting c. 50 min with 25 secondary school students.

RESULTS: Naïve adolescents had views largely consistent with those of donor-conceived adults, for example, urging parental honesty, adaptation to individual children, and family cohesion. They identified the social father as the parent while acknowledging the significance of genetic connection to the donor. A minority asserted a preference for non-disclosure; all said that, if disclosed, it should be by parents.

CONCLUSIONS: This small study contributes to increasing understanding of communication within families about donor-assisted conception.

Key words: donor insemination/adolescents/disclosure/parents/donor-assisted conception

Submitted on March 20, 2007; resubmitted on April 17, 2007; accepted on April 25, 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?




Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.