The social responsibility of gamete providers

A Gift From the Heart: The Experiences of Women Whose Egg Donations Helped Their Sisters Become Mothers

“…While they were aware that a child born through their contribution would inevitably inherit some of their genetic traits, each participant was comfortable with the fact that she shared a genetic and familial history with her sister and that the child or children produced through her donation would inevitably reflect traits and characteristics that could be attributed to their shared familial history or to her brother-in-law's family. In fact, consistent with the claims of those who maintain that children produced from third-party reproduction have a right to information about their genetic origins and family health history (Blyth, 1998;Daniels, 1998), the women in this study were relieved to know that this information would be readily available to their niece or nephew, because of the social and familial history they shared with their sister.…”

“…These concerns, combined with the pragmatic reality that the demand for eggs far outweighs the available supply, have been instrumental in influencing many clinics and countries to favor anonymous egg donation-an option that is also rife with ethical dilemmas but is less problematic in terms of boundary ambiguity (Daniels, 1998;McShane, 1997;Robinson, 1995). In fact, many fertility clinics now restrict or severely limit the use of known egg donors, prohibiting family members from donating eggs to help a sibling produce a child because of fears about long-term adjustment.…”

“…But they also have potential advantages for the recipients and their offspring, in terms of having access to detailed information on donors' medical, social, psychological, genetic, and familial history-information that can be critical to their child's long-term health and development (Blyth, 1998;Cooper, 1997;Daniels, 1998).…”

“…In cases involving known donors, the fact that these women frequently maintain an ongoing relationship with the recipient and the child or children created as a consequence of their donation has raised some serious concerns regarding the potentially negative short-and long-term social, legal, and ethical consequences of the ongoing blurring of boundaries between the genetic parent and the gestational and social parents (Daniels, 1998;Guerin, 1998;Marshall, 1998;Pennings, 1997;Pierce, Reitemeier, Jameton, Maclin, & De Jonge, 1995;Robinson, 1995;Sauer, 1996;Saunders & Garner, 1996;Shenfield & Steele, 1995). These concerns, combined with the pragmatic reality that the demand for eggs far outweighs the available supply, have been instrumental in influencing many clinics and countries to favor anonymous egg donation-an option that is also rife with ethical dilemmas but is less problematic in terms of boundary ambiguity (Daniels, 1998;McShane, 1997;Robinson, 1995). In fact, many fertility clinics now restrict or severely limit the use of known egg donors, prohibiting family members from donating eggs to help a sibling produce a child because of fears about long-term adjustment.…”

“…Certainly, known donations have the potential to be more socially and psychologically complex for the parties involved, I n f e r t i l i t y E x p e r i e n c e s : E g g D o n a t i o n s B e t w e e n S i s t e r s especially in cases of successful donation outcomes. But they also have potential advantages for the recipients and their offspring, in terms of having access to detailed information on donors' medical, social, psychological, genetic, and familial history-information that can be critical to their child's long-term health and development (Blyth, 1998;Cooper, 1997;Daniels, 1998).…”