Emerging models for facilitating contact between people genetically related through donor conception: a preliminary analysis and discussion

Abstract

Previous research indicates interest among some donor-conceived people, donors and recipient parents in having contact. Outcomes of such contact appear largely, but not universally, positive. This paper seeks to understand better the characteristics of associated support services. Information gathered using the authors' direct experiences and professional and personal networks in different parts of the world indicates the emergence of four main groupings: (i) publically funded services outside of treatment centers; (ii) services provided by fertility treatment or gamete bank services; (iii) services provided privately by independent psychosocial or legal practitioners; and (4) services organized by offspring and/or recipient parents. Key operational features examined were: (i) who can access such services and when; (ii) what professional standards and funding are in place to provide them; and (iii) how ‘matching’ and contact processes are managed. Differences appear influenced variously by the needs of those directly affected, local policies, national legislation and the interests of the fertility services which recruit gamete donors and/or deliver donor conception treatments. The paper is intended to inform fuller debate about how best to meet the needs of those seeking information and contact, the implications for the way that fertility treatment and gametes donation services are currently provided and future research needs.

Who requests their sperm donor's identity? The first ten years of information releases to adults with open-identity donors

“…It is clear that donors can change their mind and previously anonymous donors have agreed to openness years later (e.g., Refs. [55][56][57]). This raises the question of how to balance donor interests with the interests of the DI person (55,58).…”

Applications to statutory donor registers in Victoria, Australia: information sought and expectations of contact

“…Hundreds of thousands of people globally, including around 60,000 Australians (Parliament of Victoria, 2012), have been conceived with donated sperm, ova or embryos. Consistent with the view that donor-conceived people (DCP) benefit from having access to identifying information about their donors (Blyth et al, 2012;Freeman et al, 2009), a growing number of jurisdictions (including Australia, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Switzerland, the Netherlands and the UK) have introduced laws that mandate 'identity-release' donors and, in some cases, enable linking via government registers (Crawshaw et al, 2016). The state of Victoria, Australia has always been at the forefront of the legal regulation of assisted reproduction, and is unique in that its donor-linking laws have had retrospective application since 2015.…”

Secrets and disclosure in donor conception

“…UKDL was founded in 2004 to enable gamete donors and donor‐conceived individuals to register and submit a DNA sample to try and identify a potential link to another registrant (see Crawshaw et al . for an overview of types of searching services). UKDL was funded by the UK government until the transfer of its functions to the Donor Conceived Register in 2013 (Crawshaw et al .…”

“…Using data from a study undertaken with donor-conceived adults registered with UK DonorLink (UKDL), this article explores the operation of secrecy in relation to donor conception and the role secrets play in the construction and maintenance of donor-conceived families. UKDL was founded in 2004 to enable gamete donors and donor-conceived individuals to register and submit a DNA sample to try and identify a potential link to another registrant (see Crawshaw et al 2015 for an overview of types of searching services). UKDL was funded by the UK government until the transfer of its functions to the Donor Conceived Register in 2013 (Crawshaw et al 2013).…”