Donor Insemination: Telling Children About Their Origins

Abstract

Despite growing discussion of the potential benefits of openness in relation to children conceived by donated gametes, the majority of parents do not intend to tell a future child about his/her origins. As a result little is actually known about the experiences and concerns of families who do choose openness. This is a descriptive study of 83 DI Network members who did intend to or had told a child conceived, using donor insemination, about his/her origins. Quantitative and qualitative data focused on their concerns and experiences of telling. Health professionals face the challenge of providing the opportunity for discussion of these issues both before treatment and afterwards during childhood.

When two are a family: looking backward and looking forward in a group intervention with single‐by‐choice mothers

“…Some elements of the peri-natal experience will be overwhelming enough for some of them to cause difficulty with mentalization (Allen, 1995;Allen and Fonagy, 2002). Thus it is no surprise that both the literature (Cook et al, 1995;Hunter et al, 2000;Lang, 2000) and the women with whom we A group intervention with SBC mothers 251 worked emphasize the difficulty of telling their children the story of their birth. This telling is necessary to the children for obvious psychological reasons (Bollas, 1987;Verrier, 1996) and due to the necessity of preventing genetic incest when the children marry (in cases where the same sperm donor donated to different sperm banks).…”

Desenvolvimento do Questionário de Motivações para Revelar/Não Revelar a Parentalidade Não-Genética por Doação de Gâmetas

“…Ainda assim, esta maior participação das mulheres vai ao encontro do reportado em vários estudos nesta área, que apresentam maioritariamente participantes femininos (e.g. Hunter et al, 2000;Isaksson et al, 2016;Klocke Greenfeld, 2004;Readings et al, 2011;Sälevaara et al, 2013). Por outro lado, este estudo incluiu uma heterogeneidade de tipos de infertilidade o que por si só constitui uma barreira para analisar a implicação do tipo de infertilidade com as variáveis estudadas, devido à reduzida amostra.…”

“…Tendo por base uma revisão da literatura publicada entre 2000 e 2016, em que as motivações que influenciaram o processo de tomada de decisão dos pais que recorreram a tratamentos de infertilidade com gâmetas de dador fossem abordadas (Baccino et al, 2013;Blyth et al, 2010;Dorothy et al, 2004; Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2004;Fertility Counseling, 2015;Hahn, Sandra Jane;Craft-Rosenberg, 2002;Hargreavese Daniels, 2007;Hershberger et al, 2007;Hunter et al, 2000;Indekeu et al, 2013;Isaksson et al, 2016;Lalos et al, 2007;Laruelle et al, 2011;Lindblad et al, 2000;Lycett et al, 2005;Murraye Golombok, 2003;Readings et al, 2011;Sälevaara et al, 2013;Söderström-Anttila et al, 2010), procedeu-se ao desenvolvimento de um questionário com as motivações para contar e para não contar, referidas de um modo mais sistemático nos estudos consultados.…”

“…Por outro lado, a abertura e honestidade no seio familiar (Baccino et al, 2013;Blyth et al, 2010; Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2004;Hahne Craft-Rosenberg, 2002;Hunter, Salter-Linge Glover, 2000;Indekeu et al, 2013;Laruelle, Place, Demeestere, Englerte Delbaere, 2011;Lindblad et al, 2000;Lycett et al, 2005;Readings et al, 2011;Sälevaara et al, 2013;Söderström-Anttila et al, 2010) e o desejo de evitar que o/a filho/a soubesse por outros que tivessem conhecimento acerca do recurso a gâmetas de dador são também indicadas como razões para contar à criança (Baccino et al, 2013;Benward, 2015;Blyth et al, 2010;Hershberger et al, 2007;Hunter et al, 2000;Lalos et al, 2007;Laruelle et al, 2011;Lindblad et al, 2000;Lycett et al, 2005;Murraye Golombok, 2003;Readings et al, 2011;Söderström-Anttila et al, 2010). De mencionar ainda que os pais referem que a divulgação ajuda a evitar segredos na família, uma vez que estes podem prejudicar relacionamentos familiares, bem como conduzir à existência de tensões ao logo da vida (Hahne Craft-Rosenberg, 2002;Lindblad et al, 2000).…”

The Role of Birth Certificates in Relation to Access to Biographical and Genetic History in Donor Conception

“…On the one hand, some parents of donorconceived children have been at the forefront of reforms to improve donor-conceived people's access to their biographical and genetic history (Donor Conception Support Group of Australia Inc., 1997; Montuschi and Merricks, 2000 ;Lorbach, 2003 ;Blyth and Ryll, 2005 ). Studies over the past dozen years indicate that, in some countries at least, an increasing proportion of parents declare their inclination to inform their children about their conception (Adair and Purdie, 1996 ;Rumball and Adair, 1999 ;Hunter et al ., 2000 ;Brewaeys et al ., 2003Brewaeys et al ., , 2005Scheib et al ., 2003Scheib et al ., , 2004Lycett et al ., 2004Lycett et al ., , 2005Leeb-Lundberg et al ., 2006 ;Lalos et al ., 2007 ). Swedish research, in particular, has been especially informative.…”