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1 | Year | Traffic light categorisaion | Article name | Authors | Key words | URL link | Research focus | Type of study | Participants (family type, age of children, country) | Main findings | Summary of key message(s) | Key strengths and limitations | Country of origin |
2 | 2013 | Factors contributing to parental decision-making in disclosing donor conception: A systematic review | Indekeu, A., Dierickx, K., Schotsmans, P., Daniels, K.R., Rober, P. & D'Hooghe, T. | Systematic review, Assisted reproduction, Psychological factors, Ethical considerations, Family communication, Child well-being, and Secrecy vs. openness | Link to article | To summarise exisitng studies exploring disclosure of donor conception in heterosexual couple families | Review | 43 studies in English, French, German and Dutch journals covering 36 different study populations | The studies used a range of qualitative, quantiative and mixed methodologies. Some studies found younger parents were more likely to disclose. Parents who disclosed were sometimes influenced by their own personal experiences such as the openness of communication in their family. Whether gender of a parent had an influenced was often confounded with a lack of genetic connection to the child. Both disclosed and nondisclosed parents mentioned moral perspectives such as rights, principles and best interests. Factors such as stigma and the social, cultural and legal context were also found to influence parents' ideas on disclosing across different studies. | There's myriad of factors informing the decision to disclose about donor conception. The review found that it would be useful for a theoretical model to be developed to better understand the decision-making process for couples regarding disclosure to their children. | Limitations: almost all the studies reported on used only one data point even though the decision to tell can change over time. | Belgium | |
3 | 2002 | Missing links: Identity issues of donor-conceived people | Hewitt, G. | Donor concieved, disclosure, identity, and parents experience | Link to article | DC children and adults' experience of being told about being donor conceived and their feelings about this. | Survey | 47 donor conceived people from Australia, New Zealand, UK and USA. | The study found that most respondents experienced an impact on their identity as a result of finding out about being DC. The implications of finding out about this aspect of themselves was less negative the earlier on they were told. The lack of available information about their donor was a cause of concern and frustration to many respondents. | Donor conceived people feel strongly they have the right to know about their origin and many would like to have extensive information about the donor. | Limitations: The sample is small and from a diverse range of experiences. | Belgium | |
4 | 2025 | Origin stories in donor-conception: Helping families to promote autobiographical memories and identity development in their children | Navarro-Marshall, J., & Larrain Sutil, A. | donor-conceived families, donor-conceived children, origin stories, conception stories, discourse-dependent families | Link to article | The study investigates how donor-conceived families talk with their young children (ages 3–8) about their origins — specifically, how conversational style supports children’s autobiographical memory and identity development in the context of donor conception disclosure. | Qualitative - Parents audio recorded and scripts coded using an elborative reminiscing framework | Participants: 45 people from 17 Chilean donor-conceived families (heteroparental, homoparental, and single-parent structures) with children aged 3–8. | Families discussed donor conception in brief, intimate, and collaborative conversations, typically led by mothers. About one-third of talk involved elaborative reminiscing, a style known to support children’s autobiographical memory and identity development. Despite young ages, children actively participated. Three conversational styles emerged: thoughtful-imaginative, narrative with magical elements, and realistic with classic metaphors. The findings suggest that how families talk about donor origins—through emotionally supportive, elaborative storytelling—may play a meaningful role in children’s developing sense of self and family identity. | Talking about where children come from can influence how they form personal and family identity, especially for those conceived via sperm or egg donation. While previous research has looked at whether parents disclose donor conception, this article explores how these discussions happen naturally during everyday family life. | Strengths include the use of naturalistic, real-life family conversations; a strong theoretical framework (elaborative reminiscing); inclusion of children’s voices; and representation of diverse family structures. Weaknesses include a small, culturally specific and self-selected sample; limited involvement of fathers or other caregivers; subjective narrative coding; and a cross-sectional design that cannot assess long-term identity or wellbeing outcomes. | Chile | |
5 | 2025 | New families, multiples stories: Conversational processes, origin stories and donor-conceived children | Javiera Navarro | donor-conceived families, donor-conceived children, origin stories, conception stories, discourse-dependent families | Link to article | What are the motives and experiences of recipients of anonymous gamete (sperm or egg) donation. | systematic review with qualitative focus | 45 participants belonging to 17 donor-conceived families (heteroparental, monoparental and homoparental), all living in Chile and self-identied as Latino ethnicity. Children are aged between 3-8. | Parents often worry about the emotional impact on children and feel unsure about the best approach to origin disclosure. “Elaborative Reminiscing” encourages children to form healthy identity development and reconciling genetic origins within family narratives | Early disclosure tends to be normalisd by children and promotes trust, however, delayed or secretive disclosure (e.g. learning during adolescence) can induce emotional shock and feelings of betrayal from DCP. Conversations are shaped by cultural norms, family dynamics, and intergenerational relationships, there isn’t a default narrative social script. | Strengths: 53 qualitative studies across multiple countries, family types, and contexts, this offers a comprehensive approach. High methodological transparency to ensure reducibility Limitations: Most research focused on heterosexual sperm donation; fewer addressed oocyte donation or non-heterosexual/non-traditional family structures leading to uneven representation. | Chile | |
6 | 2024 | Families experiences of talking about donor-conception: How do caregivers and children feel when they discuss their origin stories? | Javiera Navarro | donor-conceived families, donor-conception, origin stories, origin storytelling, conception stories. | Link to article | Explore how families with donor-conceived children navigate discussions about their origins. | Qualitative | 7 donor-conceived families with children aged between 3 and 8 years old, in Chile. | Talking about donor conception is a complex, emotional process for both caregivers and DC children, often involving feelings of curiosity, anxiety, and reassurance. Caregivers generally aim to create open, supportive environments to share origin stories. The timing and context of conversations influence how comfortable both caregivers and children feel discussing donor origins. | Early and honest conversations about donor conception help foster trust and healthy identity development in DC children. Family openness and communication style play critical roles in how children process their origin stories. Further research is required to explore how these conversations evolve as children grow older. | Strengths: Provides rich, detailed understanding of how families experience conversations about donor conception, as families recorded their own conversations in everyday contexts, enhancing ecological validity. Limitations: 17 families limit generalizability as findings may not represent all donor-conceived families. Also focuses on young children which limits understanding of conversations at later developmental stages such as adolescence. | Chile | |
7 | 2019 | “Is blood thicker than water?” Donor conceived offspring subjective experiences of the donor: A systematic narrative review | Canzi, E., Accordini, M., & Facchin, F. | Sperm/egg donor, Genetic relatedness, Family relationships, Psychological impact, and Narrative review | Link to article | Review and summarise qualitative and quantitative research on donor-conceived individuals' experiences of their donor | Review | 29 studies of donor-conceived individuals from the USA, UK, Belgium, Australia, Norway and Sweden. Sample sizes ranged from 6 people to 741 people and across the studies then the samples included children, adolescents, young adults and adults | Four key themes were identified across the different studies: 1. views/representations of the donor; 2. desire to contact the donor; 3. reactions to discovering the donor’s identity and contacting the donor; 4. identity issues. | Genetic connections are important for people who are donor-conceived, especially when they are in adolescence or adulthood. Many participants in the different studies wanted to make contact with the donor, e.g. out of curisoity, for medical purposes, to know what they look like, to access their genetic history, and to make sense of what the donor means to them. | Strengths: systematic review, provides insight into individuals' narratives across different ages and countries. Limitations: very little data on individuals' perspectives in families who used egg donation and the studies often recruited using donor offspring connection websites. | Conducted by researchers from the Catholic University of Milan, Italy. However, was published in peer-reviewed journal based in the United Kingdom. | |
8 | 2025 | P-548 Donor-conceived persons’ experiences of (possibly) having multiple donor half-siblings: A systematic literature review and thematic synthesis | L Sophie Sørensen , L Thirup , M Thygesen , A B Skytte | Donor-conceived persons, Genetic half-siblings, Donor siblings, Kinship and identity. | Link to article | Build understanding of how donor conceived individuals perceive and navigate relationships with their uncovered, genetic half-siblings. | Systematic Literature Review | total sample comprised of donor-conceived persons aged 12-65, from five different countries, with most participants being donor-conceived persons following sperm donation. | Donor-conceived individuals often discover they have multiple genetic half-siblings, which can provoke complex emotional responses. Feelings can range from curiosity and excitement about extended family connections to confusion, anxiety,. | Supportive environments and open communication are crucial for donor-conceived persons to process these experiences positively. Counseling practices should consider the psychosocial impacts of donor sibling networks and the possibility of multiple half-siblings. | Strengths: Includes studies from various countries e.g. Denmark and the USA, enhancing the generalizability of insights across different cultural and legal contexts. Also highligts areas needing further research, guiding future studies in the field. Limitations: Differences in study designs, populations, and contexts may complicate synthesis and interpretation. No original participant data, so findings rely on secondary data analysis only. | Denmark | |
9 | 2024 | Four decades of sperm donation: motivation and attitudes among donors | Emilie Lassen, M.Sc.Ulrik Schiøler Kesmodel, M.D., Ph.D. Bjørn Bay, M.D., Ph.D. Anne-Bine Skytte, M.D., Ph.D. | Sperm donation, Donor motivation, Identity-release donors, Anonymity, Donor attitudes, information sharing, and Fertility treatment | Link to article | How the motivations and attitudes of Danish sperm donors changed over four decades, particularly regarding anonymity preferences, altruism, information sharing, and feelings toward donor-conceived people | Qualitative | 173 active sperm donors at a large Danish sperm bank, family type of said donors was not specified. Age consistently around 27-28 years old. | Donors main reason for donating stayed consistent across all four decades. Helping childless people have babies was the top motivation, however, 52% of donors said they would stop donating if they weren't paid. The proportion of ID‑release (i.e., non-anonymous) donors rose significantly, from 29 % in 2012 to 54 % in 2022 highlighting the shift in attitudes overtime, interest in updates during and after pregnancy also increased. | Study highlights the evolving trend toward openness, suggesting hat many modern donors are more receptive to identity disclosure and interaction. While altruism remains central, financial incentives continue to play a critical role for donors motivation. | Strenths: The study spans four decades, offering a rare, long-term perspective on changes in donor motivations and attitudes. Cryos Internationalis one of the world’s largest sperm banks, therefore increases the credibility and relevance of the findings. Limitations: As study was conducted in single sperm bank in Denmark findings cannot be generalised to other cultures, countries and contexts. Most importantly non-identity-release donors were less likely to participate, potentially creating selection bias. | Denmark | |
10 | 2023 | Experiences and attitudes of Danish men who were sperm donors more than 10 years ago; a qualitative interview study | Stina Lou, Stina Bollerup, Morten Deleuran Terkildsen, Stine Willum Adrian, Allan Pacey, Guido Pennings, Ida Vogel, Anne-Bine Skytte. | Donors, qualitative study, cultural context | Link to article | Donor's views and experiences | Qualitative - Interviews | 23 former donors (> 10 years since last donation) | The study found that most donors reported donating for monetary and altruistic purposes, and now considered sperm donation as a closed chapter that was ’unproblematic and in the past’. Nonetheless there was acknowledgement of donor conceived people's interest and curiosity in them. | The majority of men valued anonymity and clearly demarcated a line between sperm donation and fatherhood | Strengths: The study focuses on men who were donors more than 10 years ago, providing valuable insights into long-term experiences and attitudes. Authors come from diverse backgrounds (medicine, ethics, psychology), which can improve the study’s comprehensiveness and interpretation. Limitations: Men reflecting on experiences from over 10 years ago may have memory distortions or altered perceptions. Findings might not translate to countries with different sperm donation laws, attitudes, or healthcare systems. | Denmark | |
11 | 2016 | Wayward relations: Novel searches of the donor-conceived for genetic kinship | Klotz, M. | Genetic kinship, Assisted reproduction, Donor conception, and Genetic heritage | Link to article | Exploring the searches and relationships of DC people and their parents, and examples of 'genetic kinship' | Observations and some interviews, anthropology | Study conducted in the UK and in Germany; 6 DC participants in interviews (living in UK/Germany), most of whom had found out (rather than been told) about DC in late 20s | Connections were established between donor siblings and in some cases between the donor and DC person through different means (e.g. UK Donorlink; DNA test kits). Suggested that having authority over genetic relationships may be particularly important for those who are personally affected by DC. | Although national regulations are often based on temporary or permanent anonymity, and sometimes guarantees this to donors and parents, there are clear means of circumventing these regulations | Strength: More of a theoretical than empirical paper that makes a contribution to the scholarship in anthropology and sociology in particular | Germany primarily whilst drawing some data from the UK and US | |
12 | 2024 | Are the children alright? A systematic review of psychological adjustment of children conceived by assisted reproductive technologies | Francis Anne Teplitzky Carneiro, | Systematic review, standardised screening, psychological adjustment, children | Link to article | Outcomes for donor concieved children under age 11 looking at comparison with NC, evaluating differences based on donation, and on family type | Systematic review | 45 studies from across the globe, utilising standardised pscyhological testing | 3 objectives of the review found that: a) There were no substantial differences between ART children and NC or adoptive children, on standardised measures of pscyhological adjustment; b)A comparison of outcomes in relation to the type of ART used, did not reveal any significant differences; c) overall, the famly configuration did not influence the outcome of the results in terms of adjustment | There were no significant differences in psychological outcomes on standardised tests between children conceived with ART and naturally conceived children, regardless of family configuration and donation type | Systematic review, dependent on the selection of studies and ultimately on the quality of the data collected in them, and the way in which that data combines to form wider conclusions. There is also little expression of the nuances and differneces in the way in which assessment is done, samples recruited, and other factors which represent inter-personal differences | Global | |
13 | 2025 | The Divine in the Clinic: Assisted Reproduction and Religious Practice in Ghana and South Africa | Whittaker, A., Gerrits, T., & Manderson, L. | Anonymity, religious practice, assisted reproduction, spiritual intervention | Link to article | How cultural and religious beliefs influence assisted reproductive technology practices, particularly donor conception, in Ghana and South Africa | Qualitative ethnographic study | 74 participants in South Africa and 40 in Ghana all ranging in roles such as embryologists, donors and fertility specialists | In Zulu culture, a newborn must be introduced to the ancestors through special ceremonies, if not, people believe the child could face illness or bad luck caused by witchcraft. Spiritual interventions using donors and ART's serve to reinforce both patients and medical staff as moral agents, highlighting their active roles in the uncertain journey of assisted reproduction. | Spiritual beliefs are notsupplementary to medical procedures but are integral to the practice of assisted reproduction. These findings highlight the necessity of considering religious and cultural factors in the provision of ART services. | Strengths: Offers disciplinary perspective. Large scale participants offers holistic view and/or inference. Limitations: Clinics visited and interviewed had little to say about Islamic practices and focuses mainly on christian and Zulu perspectives. | Global review of donor conception practices. | |
14 | 2024 | Factors associated with children’s attachment hierarchy in lesbian, gay, and heterosexual parent families through assisted reproduction | Quintigliano, M., Carone, N., Speranza, A. M., & Lingiardi, V. | Attachment hierarchy, same-sex parent, reflective functioning, | Link to article | identifying the factors that influence children's selection of one or both parents as their primary attachment figure in families formed through assisted reproduction | cross-sectional study | 76 6-12 aged children and questionnaires completed by 152 parents. All white, however, 60 lesbian mothers through donor insemination, 50 gay fathers through surrogacy, and 42 heterosexual parents | Fathers with higher reflective functioning and gay fathers who demonstrated less parental rejection were more likely to be chosen as the primary attachment figure. Parental Positivity and Relational Efficacy are the factors were associated with children's choice of attachment figure. | Attachment is not determined by parents gender, biological title or family type; parents qualities are the determining factor, such as warmth and sensitivity. | Strengths: Diverse family types allows for a comprhensive view of data. Limitations: Small sample size lead to combining of heterosexual parents through sperm and egg donation into one group, and potential reporting bias. | Italy | |
15 | 2018 | Surrogacy families headed by gay men: relationships with surrogates and egg donors, fathers’ decisions over disclosure and children’s views on their surrogacy origins | Nicola Carone1,*, Roberto Baiocco1, Demetria Manzi1, Chiara Antoniucci1, Victoria Caricato1, Eugenio Pagliarulo2, and Vittorio Lingiardi2 | Childs perspective, disclosure, egg donation, surrogacy, gay father | Link to article | Surrogacy families headed by gay men: relationships with surrogates and egg donors, fathers’ decisions over disclosure and children’s views on their surrogacy origins | Gay couples, Surrogacy, Egg donation, Families | Study involves 40 gay Italian families, comprising of 80 gay fathers who became parents through surrogacy, included a total of 31 children. All families resided in Italy. Target child was aged 6-12 years old, had been conceived through gestational surrogacy. | Thirty-one children and 80 fathers were interviewed as part of a larger in-depth investigation of 40 Italian gay father surrogacy families. Multiple strategies were used to recruit participants. | Children differed in their feelings towards their surrogate and egg donor (Fisher’s exact test, P = 0.002). Of the 31 children who were aware of the surrogate, the majority felt grateful towards her (n = 22, 71%), while of the 25 children who were also aware of the egg donation, 11 (44%) showed limited interest in their donor. | Strengths: No studies have investigated how children born to gay fathers through surrogacy feel about their origins, this study will assit furture research on factors influencing children's desired contact or interest in the surrogate and/or egg donor and their feelings when contact is not possible due to legisaltions and/or distance will be important in preparing families for such events. Limitations: Some of the 31 children are from the same families, this potentially introduces biased as they may share similar experiences. Sample's all being Italian and the gay father families' high income limited the representativeness of the findings. | Italy | |
16 | 2017 | Single fathers by choice using surrogacy: Why men decide to have a child as a single parent | Carone, N., Baiocco, R. & Lingiardi, V. | Single fathers, Surrogacy, Single parenthood, Decision-making, Parenthood motivations | Link to article | Why do single men decide to have a child by surrogacy? | In-depth interviews | 33 single fathers living in Italy with an average age of 47. The majority of fathers were gay (73%) and the remainder heterosexual. The vast majority (97%) had used gestational surrogacy; one father had used a genetic surrogate. | All of the fathers explained that the timing felt right for them to become fathers. Most cited having worked through any concerns about single parenthood and their career/financial stability as additional reasons. All fathers described being initially worried about single parenthood due to lack of resources (majority explained these to be financial), and most also described feeling worried that their family of origin might not be accepting of their path to parenthood, as well as worries about their child's experience of family life. | There appear to be similarities in the decision-making and conecrns of single fathers and single mothers who pursue donor conception and surrogacy. | Strengths: The study employed in-depth interviews and includes some rich quotations from fathers themselves. Limitations: The sample is relatively small in size, and relatively homogenous (older age, Italian nationality, mostly high income, and majority gay participants). | Italy | |
17 | 2023 | Legal age limits on accessing donor information: experiences of donor-conceived people, parents, sperm donors and counsellors | Isabel Leal | Donor-conceived people, identifiable donor, age limits, donor information, donor conception, legal frameworks | Link to article | This is the first study to explore the lived experiences with legal age limits on requesting identifiable donor information including the perspectives of donor-conceived people, parents, sperm donors and counsellors. | Qualitative analysis | 46 participants: 20 donor-conceived people, 15 parents, 6 sperm donors and 5 counsellors. Netherlands | There were a number of clusters of findings about the prevalent themes 1) age limits can pose challenges 2) donor information may be regarded as important for identity development 3) inaccessiblity of information can lead to feelings of unfairness and loss; 4) relational stability provides a good foundation for dealing with challenges 5) procedural barriers and age limits increase inaccessibility of donor information; 6) individualised counselling desirable for all parties. | The study shows the consequences of the age limits in the law on donor information. The age limits focus on one individual disregarding the relational network. | Sperm donation only, small sample which is primarily female | Netherlands | |
18 | 2025 | Heterosexual parents’ experiences of their donor-conceived children’s search for and/or contact with their donors in New Zealand prior to identity-release provisions | Duff, M. A., & Goedeke, S. | Donor connections, search for donors, | Link to article | Interviews with families who have connected or tried to create contact with donors, and how this was experienced | Qualitative research - semi-structured interviews. | 9 families represented by 8 individuals and one couple with donor conceived adult children, almost all conceived prior to ID release provisions. All heterosexual couples based in New Zealand. | There was a mix of experiences in terms of contact with the donor and accessing the donor, characterised by either parent-led initiative or child-led when they were older. Positive experiences were very well recieved and often determined by donor and donor-family willingness to develop a relationship. There were complexities though, which were often unpredictable and associated with a great deal of disappointment when things didn't go as hoped. | The importance of proper preparation as each of the parties are undertaking their role, as donors, recipients and later as donor concieved adults, is emphasised as a key need to enhance successful outcomes in donor-recipient family contact. | Strengths: Study which explores an important aspect of the donor conception experience, and offer valuable insight into what contributes to better outcomes. Limitations: Small sample, with homogenous population in a unique environmental context. | New Zealand | |
19 | 2025 | Donor Conception in the Interests of the Well-Being of Donor-Conceived Persons, and Other Parties Connected through Donor Conception—A Review | Sonja Goedeke | Review, anonymity, contact, donor, half-siblings, Medical tourism. | Link to article | Overview of the key issues in globally present in the donor conception landscape and how they are navigated by the different parties | Review | Review on a wide range of family dynamics in multiple countries with children of a wide age range | The review highlights key considerations, including disclosure, access to identifying information about donors and siblings, opportunities for contact, altruistic donation, and adequate support systems. It also explores factors that can influence these provisions (abstract) | The psychological and emotional well-being of donor-conceived people should be a central concern in donor conception practices. Ethical standpoints are moving away from focusing only on parental rights and reproductive autonomy and instead prioritising the rights of DCPs and what they want. | Strengths: Considers the interests of various parties involved in donor conception, including donor-conceived individuals, donors, parents, and fertility professionals which offers a holistic approach to donor conception. Also emphasises the well-being and rights of donor-conceived persons auch as advocateing for practices such as early disclosure of donor conception. Limitations: Review focuses primarily on western perspective, highlights the need for further studies, particularly in the Asia–Pacific region. Futhermore, the selection of literature for review may be influenced by publication biases or the availability of studies in English. This can cause over or under presentation of certain perspectives. | New Zealand | |
20 | 2015 | Building extended families through embryo donation: the experiences of donors and recipients | S. Goedeke , K. Daniels , M. Thorpe , E. Du Preez | Embryo donation, genetic knowledge, family building and donors | Link to article | How donors and recipients conceptualise their relationships with each other and with donor-conceived children. | Qualitative with semi-structured interviews | 22 donors (10 couples, 2 individuals) and 15 recipients (5 couples, 5 individuals) al in New Zealand | Genetic connection holds deep meaning for example donors felt a sense of responsibility for the children born from their embryos. Both groups emphasised the importance of being open with children about their origins amd considered it crucial for the child’s psychological well-being and family integrity. | Participants consistently compared embryo donation to open adoption, referencing the lifelong relationships and emotional complexities involved. New Zealand’s system requiring counselling and identity-release donation was viewed positively and helped provide support and manage expectations and ethical challenges. | Strengths: Qualitative type of study and use of semi-structured interviews allowed participants to share complex personal experiences and views on embryo donation. Study conducted in a context New Zealand where embryo donation is open and identity-release, offering a valuable look at how such systems influence donor and recipient experiences. Limitations: Small and localised sample size offers generalisability to other countries or healthcare systems. Self-selected participants introduce selection bias. | New Zealand | |
21 | 2022 | A Systematic Review of Qualitative Studies Investigating Motives and Experiences of Recipients of Anonymous Gamete Donation | Bauer, T. | gamete donation, sperm donation, oocyte donation, donor anonymity | Link to article | What motives and experiences of recipients choosing anonymous gamete donation are reported in relevant qualitative research? | Systematic review of qualitative studies | 53 studies published between 1988-2019 (42 focused on sperm donation, 11 on oocyte donation). | Not knowing the donor helps parents feel more like “normal” parents. It avoids feelings of guilt or obligation and helps couples feel secure in their roles. Parents believe itll protect the child not only internally e.g. confusion but also externally e.g. rejection from the donor. | There are many reasons for anonimity in donor conception. If the donor is known, especially a family member, it can lead to tension or confusion in relationships. Keeping the donor anonymous helps maintain clear boundaries and control over who knows what. Sometimes anonymity is the only option due to laws, medical rules, or availability. | Strengths: Limitations: The majority of studies only noted participants' views at a single point, with very few longitudinal studies tracking how attitudes and experiences change over time. Also, research spans a long period (1988-2019), during which attitudes, technologies, and legal frameworks have understandably changed. | Primary focus on Western European and North American | |
22 | 2015 | Emerging models for facilitating contact between people genetically related through donor conception: A preliminary analysis and discussion | Crawshaw, M., et al. | Genetic relatives, Contact facilitation, Voluntary registers, Identity, Family connections, Assisted reproduction, and Ethical considerations | Link to article | To explore different support services available to donor-conceived individuals to make contact with genetic relatives | Interviews | Experienced practioners and academics in USA, Europe and Australasia | Four types of services were identified: 1. services that are publicly funded; 2. services provided through fertility treatment services; 3. private services by independent practitioners; and 4. services provided through families who have used assisted reproduction. | There are various different types of support services available to assist donor-conceived individuals in making contact with genetic relatives. The support services differed in who were eligible to use them, voluntary or paid staff, and the way in which matching genetic relatives and facilitating contact was managed. | Strengths: provides descriptions of each type of support and useful for highlighting issues that require attention with the services available. Limitations: not an exhaustive account of all services and doesn't evaluate the usefulness of each service | Reseach was conducted in the United Kingdom and the United States | |
23 | 2021 | Factors associated with searching for people related through donor conception among donor-conceived people, parents, and donors: a systematic review | Indekeu, A., Maas, J. McCormick, E., Benward, J., & Scheib, J. | Donors, searching behaviour, identity, and parents | Link to article | To summarise research on donor-conceived people searching for genetic relatives | Review | 47 studies published in English, French, German, Spanish, and Dutch | The studies differed in terms of methodology, recruitment, participants and analysis. The research overall shows that people who are donor-conceived, their parents, and donors are all interested in each other. However, their motivations for information and seeking contact differed between people and studies. | Showing an interest in the donor is common amongst donor-conceived people and this curiosity is often shown also by family members and the donor themselves. Support and counselling is recommended to help negotiate the process of donor-linking and should be informed by research on donor-linking. | Strengths: comphrensive review of many studies in different contexts. Limitations: many of the studies had a self-selecting sampling bias. | research was conducted by scholars within institutions in Belgium, the United States, and Australia | |
24 | 2020 | Transition to parenthood and quality of parenting among gay, lesbian and heterosexual couples who conceived through assisted reproduction | Rubio, B., Vecho, O., Gross, M., van Rijn-van Gelderen, L., Bos, H., Ellis-Davies, K., Winstanley, A., Golombok, S., & Lamb, M. | Transition to parenthood, Gay parents, Lesbian parents, Heterosexual parents, Parenting quality, and Family functioning | Link to article | To explore the emotional experience of pregnancy and early parenthood, and the quality of parenting, amongst couples who used assisted reproduction | Interviews and questionnaires | 35 same-sex male couple families, 58 same-sex female couple families, and 41 heterosexual-parent families with infants in France, the Netherlands and the UK | Few differences were found in parenting quality, feelings about becoming a parent and enjoyment of parenthood between the different family types. During early pregnancy, same-sex female couples felt more positively than heterosexual couples, and more positive than heterosexual couples and same-sex male couples at the end of pregnancy. Same-sex male couples felt more positive about being a parent initially than heterosexual couples. | Overall few differences were found between family types and that all the family types showed warm parenting and expressed enjoyment of their infants shows that using assisted reproduction to start their family did not impact early parenting. | Limitations: the small sample size from each country meant that potential differences based on country could not be explored. | Researchers from France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States | |
25 | 2025 | Couple's interpersonal dynamics and relationship quality in donor-conceived families: a systematic review | Fusco, C., De Carli, P., Fusoni, F., & Santona, A. | Assisted Reproductive Technologies, Donor-Conceived Families, Gamete Donation, Interpersonal Dynamics, Relationship Quality. | Link to article | How interpersonal dynamics and relationship quality function within couples who use gamete donation to conceive children | Systematic review | Review included 46 peer-reviewed studies published between 1991 and 2023. studies were obtained fro a number of countries inlcuding United Kingdom, United States, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Norway, Italy, Netherlands, and three multi-country European studies. Family type and childrens age (12 weeks-18 years) also varied. | Twenty of the studies suggested high levels of relationship satisfaction and no significant differences between families with children conceived through ART and those with children conceived spontaneously. Fourteen of the studies explored the link between disclosure and couples relationship quality. Whilst there was no clear corelation between disclosure and relationship satisfaction, couples who had partial agreement on disclosure showed more relationship stress than those in full agreement. | Relationship stability was reviewed in 16 studies and 7 intimacy and sexuality studies were reviewed; separation and divorce rates varied from 1.8% to 23% across the studies, generally similar to or lower than general population rates. Intamacy rates did decrease after conception but at an expected rate. Sexual satisfaction remained stable in lesbian couples but showed some decline in frequency, Some parents reported feeling closertogether after donor conception. | Strengths: Reviewing a plethora of studies and specifically spread out over decades offers rich overview of couples relationships, which is useful for highlighting long-term trends and changes in opinions etc. Limitations: Limited representation from non-Western countries and non-middle class families. As with many longitudinal designs, couples experiencing severe relational stress may have dropped out or never participated. | Review conducted in Milan, Italy. However reviewed studies from United Kingdom (17 studies), United States (9), Sweden (7), Australia (4), New Zealand (3), Norway (1), Italy (1), Netherlands (1), and three multi-country European studies. | |
26 | 2025 | ‘I helped create a child, but I am not its mother’: attitudes of Spain’s anonymous egg donors towards contact with donor-conceived children | Jociles Rubio, M. I., & Ayala Rubio, A. | Assisted reproductive technology, egg donation, Donor anonymity, Donor-conceived children, Donor attitudes, and Genetic kinship. | Link to article | The attitudes of anonymous egg donors in Spain towards potential contact with children conceived from their genetic material, should Spanish legislation change to permit this | Qualitative research - semi-structured interviews. | Involved anonymous egg donors from Spain. It did not focus on family type or children’s ages, as the participants were donors. | Attitudes provide and mirror a strong cultural and legal context of anonymity in Spain as it provides useful evidence for debates around changing anonymity laws in reproductive donation. The study challenges the assumption that all anonymous donors oppose future contact as on average 75% of donors were open to contact. | Attitudes provide and mirror a strong cultural and legal context of anonymity in Spain as it provides useful evidence for debates around changing anonymity laws in reproductive donation. The study challenges the assumption that all anonymous donors oppose future contact as on average 75% of donors were open to contact. | Strengths: In-depth qualitative data from 38 egg donors provides rich insights into personal views and values, Identifies nuanced donor attitudes and challenges outdates laws. Limitations: All participants are from Spain therefore findings may not apply to other countries due to dfferent culture and laws. Interviews were done between 2016–2019 and attitudes may have changed due to changes in trends such as DNA testing. | Spain | |
27 | 2025 | Integration of donor conception into identity and parental attachment: adolescents in heterosexual-couple and lesbian-couple families | Groundstroem, H., Paulin, J., ∙ Sydsjö, G., & Lampic, C. | Donor-conceived, adolescents, identity integration, attachment, co-parent relationship, emotional well-being | Link to article | The study examined whether parental attachment security is related to how donor‑conceived adolescents integrate their donor conception into their identity (measured by curiosity about or avoidance of donor origins) in both heterosexual‑couple and lesbian‑couple families following identity‑release gamete donation. | Cross‑sectional survey conducted in 2022–2023 as part of a longitudinal Swedish study. | 100 donor‑conceived adolescents (ages ~13–17, 78% response rate) participated, drawn from: 50 from lesbian‑couple families with sperm donation; 27 from heterosexual couples with sperm donation; 23 from heterosexual couples with oocyte donation; All adolescents were aware of their donor conception, mostly told before age 8. | Donor‑conceived adolescents in both heterosexual- and lesbian‑couple families generally reported secure attachment to their parents and low levels of curiosity or avoidance regarding their donor conception. Stronger attachment to the co‑parent (father or co‑mother) was associated with lower curiosity about donor origins, while attachment to the birth mother showed no significant effect. Family type did not significantly influence these patterns. Overall, adolescents demonstrated healthy identity integration of their donor conception, suggesting that secure parent–child relationships support emotional well-being regardless of family structure. | Secure attachment to the non‑birth parent (father or co‑mother) may be more influential for adolescents’ curiosity about their donor conception than attachment to the birth mother. Across family types, adolescents showed generally secure attachments and relatively limited preoccupation with their donor origins, suggesting healthy identity integration overall. | Strengths: Inclusion of both heterosexual- and lesbian-couple families; focus on adolescents’ own perspectives; use of validated measures for parental attachment; high response rate (~78%); addresses identity integration in a donor-conception context, filling a research gap. Weaknesses: Cross-sectional design limits causal inference; relatively small sample size (n=100) reduces generalizability; culturally homogeneous (Swedish) sample; limited diversity in age and family backgrounds; potential self-report bias in adolescents’ responses; effect sizes for associations were small, limiting practical significance. | Sweden | |
28 | 2024 | Using the theory of planned behavior to predict parents’ disclosure of donor conception to their children: a longitudinal study | Paulin, J., Sorjonen, K., Sydsjö, G., & Lampic, C. | Disclosure, donor conception, assisted reproduction and parent. | Link to article | Can the theory of planned behavior help predict heterosexual parents' disclosure of donor conception to their children? | longitudinal study | 130 heterosexual-couple parents who conceived through identity-release gamete donation. | For parents who believed telling their child was the right thing to do, or felt confident about how to have the conversation, didn't predict whether they actually told their children, in comparision to the "others expect me to tell" mindset mattered most in whether parents eventually disclosed. | Having a partner who supported being open about the donor conception was one of the strongest factors in whether parents went ahead with telling their children. This highlights the crucial role of social and partner expectations in shaping real-world disclosure behavior. By the time the children were teenagers, most parents had told their children about their donor conception. Parents who felt strongly about following what society and others thought was right were more likely to tell their children about their donor conception. | Strengths: Limitations: Small sample size and heterosexual couples only therefore reduces generalizability. | Sweden | |
29 | 2024 | Integration of donor conception into identity and parental attachment: adolescents in heterosexual-couple and lesbian-couple families | Groundstroem, H., Paulin, J., Sydsjö, G., & Lampic, C. | Adolcesence, attachment, donor conception, identity | Link to article | Is parental attachment related to the integration of donor conception into identity among adolescents in heterosexual-couple and lesbian-couple families following identity-release oocyte and sperm donation? | cross-sectional study | 100 donor-conceived adolescents, ages 13-16 years | Most teens did not have a stong curiosity for the donors regardless of family type or relationship with gestational parent. There was a inversly proportional correlation between the strength of the relationship with father (heterosexual) and the co-parent (lesbian) and the teens curiosity to meet/know donor; This highlights emotional importance of non-biollogical parent. | Donor conception identity integration during adolescence is complex and influenced by multiple factors. Parental attachment ias well as other potential social, emotional, and individual influences. The study’s conducted in Sweden, where donor identity release is a standard, this may influence openness and adolescent attitudes. | Strengths: Covers both heterosexual and lesbian-couple families, which offers cross-family-type comparisons. Limitations: Possible selection bias as recruitment was done through parents. | Sweden | |
30 | 2022 | A systematic review of qualitative studies investigating motives and experiences of recipients of anonymous gamete donation | Bauer, T. | Qualitative study, choosing a donor, anoymous donation | Link to article | Motivation and experiences of recipients choosing anonymous gamete donation (vs ID Disclosure or Known Donors) | Qualitative - Interviews | 53 studies published between 1988-2019 (42 focused on sperm donation, 11 on oocyte donation). Mix of heterosexual couples, lesbian couples, and single mothers. Sample sizes in original studies ranged from single-participant case studies to 200+ participants. Studies conducted before, during, and after treatment. | Five main categories were found, relating to intention to keep the information secret, to avoid knowing the donor's identity oneself, to prevent the donor knowing the child's identity, legald and practical reasons around finances | Recipients choosing anonymous gamete donation primarily choose this route for emotional and social reasons to boundary their families, and for practical reasons. However, feelings about this choice often evolve over time. | Mixed quality of studies, focus on Western countries, single measurement point in most studies, research quality varied and most importantly the studies were spread across a wide time span 1988-2019, in which time many of the attitudes will have shifted in some form | Switzerland | |
31 | 2023 | ‘Doing’ kinship: heterosexual parents’ experiences of non-genetic parenthood through donor conception | Sara Nóbrega, | Donor conception, kinship, Male infertility and sperm donation. | Link to article | How Dutch heterosexual parents who used donor conception navigate non-genetic parenthood and kinship | Qualitative in-depth semi-structured interviews | 3 heterosexual couples, all were white and predominantly Dutch. All men had infertility issues. | Most parents felt not having a genetic connection didn't affect their ability to bond with their child. However, many parents still wanted their child to look like the father and wanted the same donor for all their children, wanting siblings to be fully genetically related to each other. | Some fathers worried about what would happen when their children could contact the donor as teenagers whilst the mothers were more open to meeting the donor some day and more understanding of their child potential interest in donor. All parents did, however, tell or plan to tell their children they are donor concieved, as they believe the secrecy is more harmful. | Strengths: Limitations: Research limited to heterosexual couples and only provides a snapshot of the young childs life . Potential self-selection bias introduced as parents are more open about donor conception. | The Netherlands | |
32 | 2025 | Exploring the generational ordering of kinship through decisions about DNA testing and gamete donor conception: What's the right age to know your donor relatives? | Gilman, L. (lead author), Nordqvist, P., Hudson, N., & Frith, L. | childhood, donor conception, generation, genetics, kinship, parenting | Link to article | How UK parents of donor-conceived children navigate questions around the “right age” for their children to connect with genetic (donor) relatives | Qualitative | 20 UK-based parents through donor conception. Predominantly white, highly educated, female (18 women, 2 men). With a mixture of family structure and donation types. | Study highlights three interrelated ontologies of childhood kinship that influence when parents feel is the "right age" for donor conceived children should be informed and allowed to seek out donor relatives in the UK. These three ontologies create parental anxiety | The three ontologies are Kinship Catalyst where children are seen as accelerating or intensifying kinship processes. Kinship Risk where children, especially adolescents, are viewed as emotionally vulnerable e.g at risk of identity crises. Kinship Agent where children are also recognized as developing individuals with rights and abilities to make their own kinship choices. | Strengths: Study revealed a connection between parents worry about timing and their only family situation/culture. Limitations: Adult perspective only taken into account; not the childrens. The findings are culturally specific, particularly reflecting white, middle-class Euro-American kinship norms only. | United Kingdom | |
33 | 2024 | On the sensations of direct-to-consumer DNA testing: realisations, resemblance and relationships | Giselle Newton, Emma Kirby, Nicholas Carah, and Romy Wilson Gray | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing, Donor conception, Genetic testing, Identity, Family relationships. | Link to article | To explore the emotional, sensory, and relational experiences of donor-conceived individuals who use direct-to-consumer DNA testing. | Qualitative | Adult donor concieved Australians | Participants experienced a range of initial emotions, e.g. shock to deception upon discovering unexpected genetic relationships. DNA revelations prompted participants to reassess their physical and behavioral traits, leading to sensations of both similarity and difference. These genetic discoveries influenced interactions with family members, often altering perceptions and dynamics within familial relationships. | DNA revelations can cause strong emotional responses, challenging previously held beliefs about identity and family. Revelations necessitate a re-examination of personal and familial identities. Genetic information can significantly alter interpersonal relationships, highlighting the complex interplay between genetics and social bonds. | Strengths: Limitations: | United Kingdom | |
34 | 2024 | Child development and family relationships in families following ART | S. Zadeh & V. Jadva | Assisted reproduction, Child development, Family functioning, Gamete donation, Surrogacy | Link to article | Examines child development and family relationships in families formed through third-party assisted reproductive technologies (ART). | Narrative review of previously published empirical studies (qualitative, quantitative, and longitudinal research). | It is a review obtaining its secondary data from a collection of studies which focus primarily on western, white, middle-class participants. | The review covers developmental research on families formed through sperm, egg, and embryo donation, as well as, surrogacy. It evaluates how these different routes of conception are associated with children's outcomes and family dynamics. Children conceived through ART generally show healthy emotional, cognitive, and social development comparable to children from genetically related families. | Early, gradual ART disclosure is critical for trust, family cohesion, and identity development. Access to donor info and sibling groups enhnaces identity exploration and emotional well-being of DCP. | Strengths: The paper recognises the lack of ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic diversity in the literature, and urges researchers to move beyond Western, middle-class samples. Limitations: Most of the studies cited are drawn from Western countries (UK, US, Europe), which reduces generalizability to non-Western contexts or more conservative cultural settings. | United Kingdom | |
35 | 2024 | Comparing the psychological outcomes of donor and non-donor conceived people: A systematic review | Talbot C, Hodson N, Rose J, Bewley S. | Systematic review, Outcomes, Donor conceived people | Link to article | Outcomes for donor concieved people | Systematic review | Fifty studies (with 4666 DC participants), mostly from high-income anglophone countries | Of 19 comparative studies, 14 found no difference in outcomes between DC and non- DC people, ten found better outcomes (in health, well- being, self- esteem and emotional warmth) and six found worse outcomes (increased autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, addiction issues, mental illness, disruptive behaviour and identity problems). More than half (52%) of the articles conducted studies on children aged <12 years, although many DC people are now adults. | "The research on DC individuals presents a nuanced picture, with most studies suggesting comparable or improved outcomes in terms of well-being and relationships, but with a notable minority indicating higher rates of mental health and identity struggles. Qualitative findings underscore common negative experiences, whereas the early disclosure of DC status appears beneficial for psychological well-being" | Systematic review, dependent on the selection of studies and ultimately on the quality of the data collected in them, and the way in which that data combines to form wider conclusions | United Kingdom | |
36 | 2024 | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing: the perspectives and experiences of donor conceived young adults in the UK | Valéria Leong, | Donor conceived people, DNA testing, Direct to consumer DNA testing | Link to article | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing, as it relates to the experiences of DC adults | Qualitative analysis | 33 young adults (18-31 Yrs old) all conceived via sperm donation under legal anonymity | There were a range of experiences amongst the sample, and differences in the meanings they ascribed to, and uses of, direct-to-consumer DNA testing. | DC adults are seen to express a range of different opinions on the experiences, meanings and purposes of DNA testing. More support and guidance to handle the outcomes of these, are needed | Strengths: 33 in-depth interviews with young adults offers diverse sample which provides a comprehensive understanding of the varied perspectives within this group. Limitations: The sample's compositionbeing predominantly UK residents conceived under legal anonymity may limit the ability to generalise findings. | United Kingdom | |
37 | 2023 | ‘I know it’s not normal but it’s normal to me, and that’s all that matters’: experiences of young adults conceived through egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy | Pedro Alexandre Costa & | Donor conceived people | Link to article | thoughts and feelings of young adults born following egg donation, sperm donation, and surrogacy? | Qualitative analysis | 35 Participants | Young adults felt either unconcerned or positive about the method of their conception. | This study charts both interest and lack of interest in DNA testing amongst DC adults. whilst looking at the meaning and function of these within the young people's social lives. | Strengths: Study uses in-depth interviews with both donors and DCP, allowing for a comprehensive understanding of their personal experiences, emotions, and perspectives. Limitations: Participants were recruited through specific channels, such as fertility clinics and support groups, which may not represent the wider population involved in known egg donation and introduce selection bias. | United Kingdom | |
38 | 2023 | Longitudinal study of families formed through third-party assisted reproduction: Mother-child relationships and child adjustment from infancy to adulthood. | Golombok, S., Jones, C., Hall, P., Foley, S., Imrie, S., & Jadva, V. | Longitudinal, Outcomes, Parent, Children, Relationship | Link to article | Outcomes for donor concieved children | Qualitative and Quantitative, longtitudinal | Sixty-five assisted reproduction families, including 22 surrogacy families, 17 egg donation families, and 26 sperm donation families, were compared with 52 unassisted conception families when the children were aged 20. | Therewere no differences observed between assisted reproduction and unassisted conception families in mothers’ or young adults’ in terms of psychological well-being and the quality of family relationships. However, egg donation mothers reported less positive relationships than sperm donation mothers; and young people in sperm donation families reported communication to be more negative than their egg donation concieved counterparts. | Overall, an absense of a biological link in assisted reproduction families did not signifcantly impact the relationships and outcomes in assisted reproductive families, although some key differences were evident in the way different parties percieved relationships within these families. Disclosure prior to age 7 was associated with better reported relationships and well being in mothers. | Strengths include the longtitudinal nature of the study, its robust assessment methods. Limitations are that it includes a very small and selective sample, especially when subcategories of participants are examined. | United Kingdom | |
39 | 2022 | O-219 Donor conception and Commercial Genomics: how are donor conceived people, their parents and donors using direct-to-consumer genetic testing? | L Frith , L Gilman , C Redhead , M Fox , N Hudson , F MacCallum , J Kirkham Brown | Donor conception, Direct-to-consumer genetic testing, Commercial genomics, Family relationships, and Genetic identity | Link to article | How donor conceived people, their parents and donors use direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTCGT) | qualitative - semi-structured interviews | included donor-conceived people, their parents (mostly mothers), and sperm or egg donors. Most of the donor-conceived participants were adults. Almost all participants lived in the United Kingdom at the time of the study (57 out of 60). | Donor-conceived people, their parents, and donors are increasingly using direct-to-consumer genetic testing to find genetic relatives and learn more about their origins. Genetic testing can help reveal family connections but also brings up complex feelings about identity, privacy, and relationships. | Parents use genetic tests to fill gaps in information or confirm biological relationships, however, donors sometimes face unexpected contact or discovery through these tests. Conclusion of article is that genetic testing changes how people understand family and genetic identity in donor conception contexts | Strengths: In-depth interviews provide rich, detailed insights into people’s experiences with genetic testing, including perspectives from donor-conceived individuals, parents, and donors, giving a well-rounded view. Limitations: The study relies on self-reported experiences, which can be subjective and biased. Sample size is relatively small, which limits generalisability. | United Kingdom | |
40 | 2022 | Fatherlessness, sperm donors and ‘so what?’ parentage: arguing against the immorality of donor conception through ‘world literature’ | Dr Grace Halden | Donor conception, Fatherlessness, Sperm donors, Immortality | Link to article | Fatherlessness, sperm donors and ‘so what?’ parentage: arguing against the immorality of donor conception through ‘world literature’ | To explore the significance of story-telling in cultural understandings of family and identity, and to identify how story-telling can impact how society negotiates complex issues such as assisted reproduction, donor conception and donor industry regulation. | Medical Humanities | This article is a study of literature and does not feature participants | David J. Velleman’s suggestion that donor-conceived offspring have a fractured narrative does not appreciate the diversification of narratives for different families. The question should not be about the significance of biology to identity construction but about the importance of how we talk about different types of origin stories. Unwillingness to enfold diverse conception narratives into the story of reproduction is what will disadvantage children, no matter how they are conceived, born and raised. | Strengths: Study examines egg providers' experiences across three countries (UK, Belgium, and Spain) offering insights into how varying national practices and policies influence information-giving and women's experiences in egg donation. Limitations: Findings may not be applicable to countries with different cultural, regulatory, and economic contexts. Participants were recruited through clinics, agencies, and patient organizations, which may introduce selection bias | United Kingdom | |
41 | 2021 | Recipient and donor experiences of known egg donation: implications for fertility counselling | Nina Martin 1, Neda Mahmoodi 1, Nicky Hudson 2, Georgina Jones 1 | Known egg donor, counselling, infertility | Link to article | Known donors, egg donation | cross-sectional, qualitative study. | known egg donors and recipients | Implications from relationships with known egg donors are considered by infertility counsellors in the provision of counselling, and by those undergoing known egg donation when seeking information and support, before, during and after the donation. | The study highlights a number of implications in known egg donation, arising from the relationships involved. | Strengths: The findings offer practical recommendations for fertility counsellors, emphasising the importance of addressing the emotional aspects of known egg donation. Limitations: The study's cross-sectional design provides a snapshot of experiences at a single point in time, without capturing the long-term implications and evolving dynamics of known egg donation arrangements. | United Kingdom | |
42 | 2021 | Telling donor-conceived children about their conception: Evaluation of the use of the donor conception network children’s books | Harper, J., Abdul, I., Barnsley, N., & Ilan-Clarke, Y. | Children’s books, Donor Conception Network, Communication with children, Identity development, Family communication | Link to article | To evaluate the usefulness of books about donor conception as a tool for disclosure to children | Survey | 108 parents recruited through the Donor Conception Network social media and families who are members of the DCN who had used donor conception and had used donor conception books | Parents reported greater confidence in telling their children after reading the DCN books with their children, many felt that their children's understanding of donor conception increased as a result of the books, and parents generally felt more confident in using language about donor conception. | The books can be a useful tool for parents who want to disclose to their children about donor conception and help children understand donor conception. | Strengths: provides helpful information about how parents use the books and how they feel about the DCN books. Limitations: there wasn't enough participants to be able to compare responses between different family types or between families with older children and younger children. | United Kingdom | |
43 | 2020 | "Making the child mine": Mothers' thoughts and feelings about the mother-infant relationship in egg donation families | Imrie, S., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Mother–infant relationship, Maternal bonding, Psychological adjustment, Donor conception families, Identity and attachment, and Maternal feelings | Link to article | How mothers who have a gestational but not a genetic connection to their child experience the mother-child relationship when their child is in infancy | Interviews | 85 coupled mothers who used egg donation and have an infant aged 6- 18-months in the UK | The mothers used a range of strategies to construct their mothering identity and to help them feel that their baby was their own. This varied between mothers and so did the importance of the lack of genetic relationship. By the time their child was 1-years-old, most mothers were confident and secure in their parenting role. | The strategies the mothers used helped them with any difficult feelings about not being genetically related to their child and faciliated their adjustment to motherhood. | Strengths: large sample for a study of egg donation especially a qualitative study. Limitations: might not be representative of women who have used egg donation but are not open to discussing their experiences. | United Kingdom | |
45 | 2020 | Islamic beliefs on gamete donation: The impact on reproductive tourism in the Middle East and the United Kingdom | Siobhan Chien | Gamete donation, Third-party reproduction, Donor anonymity, Islam, Shariah law | Link to article | Islamic beliefs on gamete donation: The impact on reproductive tourism in the Middle East and the United Kingdom | Islamic faith and gamete donation | United Kingdom | United Kingdom | ||||
46 | 2020 | Single mothers by choice: Parenting and child adjustment in middle childhood | Golombok, S., Zadeh, S., Freeman, T., Lysons, J. & Foley, S. | Single mothers by choice, Parenting quality, Child adjustment, and Family structure | Link to article | Quality of relationships between single mothers by choice and their children and child adjustment | Developmental psychology, interviews, observatons and questionnaires | 44 single mothers by choice and 37 coupled mothers in the UK all with a donor-conceived child aged 8–10 years-old | No differences were found between the single and coupled mothers for the mother's wellbeing, child adjustment, or the quality of parent-child relationship. For both family types, higher levels of parenting stress and pre-exisiting child difficulties were associated with child adjustment difficulties when the children are in middle-childhood. | Having two parents or having a male parent is not necessary for children to be well-adjusted. Instead, family functioning is more important for the adjustment of family members, such as the level of parenting stress. | Strengths: one of the first studies to explore children in single mother by choice families in middle-childhood and had a good retention rate from the first phase of the study. Limitations: a relatively small sample size and recruited from a private clinic so might not be representative of all mothers who use sperm donation. | United Kingdom | |
47 | 2020 | The psychological wellbeing of ART children: What have we learned from 40 years of research? | Golombok, S. | IVF (in vitro fertilization), Emotional adjustment, Parent–child relationships, Family structure, and Outcomes for ART children | Link to article | To summarise research on adjustment and parent-child relationships in families who used assisted reproduction | Review | Studies with families who have used sperm donation, egg donation, surrogacy, same-sex female couples, same-sex male couples and single mothers by choice | Children who are conceived using assisted reproduction in different types of family are generally well-adjusted and sometimes show greater adjustment than children in unassisted families. The studies rewieved found that the quality of family relationships and parental wellbeing were more important for children than the way in which they were conceived. It was also found that social attitudes towards assisted reproduction and stigmatisation influence the children's experiences of their family type. | The quality of parent-child relationship and wider social context are of greater importance for a child than being biologically related to a parent, the gender of a parent, the sexuality of a parent, or the number of parents in a family. | Strengths: summarises a range of studies on different types of families who used assisted reproduction. | United Kingdom | |
48 | 2019 | A comparison of the characteristics, motivations, preferences and expectations of men donating sperm online or through a sperm bank | Graham, S., Freeman, T. & Jadva, V. | Sperm donation, Online donors, sperm banks, Donor motivations and characteristics | Link to article | To compare sperm donors in the regulated sector to those who are unregulated (i.e. donors on connection websites) | Survey | 168 HFEA-registered sperm donors and 70 donors registered on Pride Angel | Both types of sperm donor reported that they felt that 'I want to help others' was a very important reason for them donating. Online donors were significantly older, more likely to have their own children than donors from a sperm bank and more likely to have worries about being a donor, but less likely to see their relationship to donor offspring as a 'genetic relationship only'. | Although the two types of sperm donors shared similarities such as motivations for donating, then there are key differences, including more concerns from online sperm donors. It would be useful to find ways to encourage online sperm donors to donate through a regulated clinic to offer them support and legal protection. | Strengths: gives rare insight into donors who are not regulated. Limitations: only one online connection site and one HFEA registered sperm bank were used for recruitment. | United Kingdom | |
49 | 2019 | Psychological well-being of identity-release egg donation parents with infants | Imrie, S., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Egg donation, Identity-release donors, Psychological well-being, Parents, and Infants | Link to article | How does the psychological adjustment of parents who used egg donation compare to parents who used IVF? | Standardised questionnaires | 57 families who used identity-release egg donation and 56 families who used IVF in the UK with infant children | Egg donation mothers reported lower social support than IVF mothers and egg donation fathers reported lower psychological health than IVF fathers however all the scores were within the normal range for the measured used. The differences seemed to be related to the older age of egg donation parents and the greater likelihood of having twins. | The findings show that egg donation parents have more similarities in their wellbeing to parents who used IVF than they have differences and are mostly all doing well. The differences found suggest that more support needs to be signposted to parents who use egg donation. | Strength: this is the first study to explore the psychological adjustment of parents who used identity-release egg donation. Limitation: fewer fathers than mothers took part - an issue in wider research. | United Kingdom | |
50 | 2018 | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing: The fallout for individuals and their families unexpectedly learning of their donor conception origins | Crawshaw, M. | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing, Unexpected discovery, Family disruption, Secrecy and disclosure, and Ethical implications | Link to article | Exploring the experiences of adults who have found out about donor conception by using a direct-to-consumer DNA test | Case studies | Three adult women in the UK and Canada all born from the same sperm donor | The three women had found out later in life that they were donor-conceived; one from a parent and the other two from an unexpected DNA-test result that they took because of an interest in family history. | The three women had to adjust to both knowing that they were donor conceived and making the decision about who in the their family they wanted to disclose that to. The research highlights how direct to consumer DNA testing can result in unexpected, new knowledge of their genetic relatives. This highlights the need for easily accessible support for those who experience results that reveal the possibility of being donor-conceived. | Limitations: only three interviewees. | United Kingdom | |
51 | 2018 | Families created by egg donation: Parent-child relationship quality in infancy | Imrie, S., Jadva, V., Fischel, S. & Golombok, S. | Egg donation, Parent–child relationship, Infanct, Attachment, and Early development | Link to article | Quality of relationships between mothers, fathers and infants in egg donation families | Developmental psychology, interviews and observation of parent-infant play | 85 heterosexual couple families formed using egg donation (85 mothers and 67 fathers) and 65 families formed using IVF (65 mothers and 38 fathers), with children in ED families aged on average 11 months. 73 ED families had used an identifiable donor and 12 had used a known donor | Parents' representations of their relationships with their children indicated a high quality of relationship across mothers and fathers and across family types. Mothers who had used egg donation showed lower levels of confidence in their parenting ability compared to mothers who used IVF. Mothers who had used egg donation were less sensitive in their interactions with their infants than were the mothers who used IVF (although all mothers' scores reflected good interaction quality). These findings were no longer significant when analyses excluded mothers with twins. | Findings suggest that egg donation families function well in infancy overall, but there may be subtle but meaningful differences in mother-infant interaction quality in egg donation families compared to IVF families. Further research on this is required to draw substantial conclusions. | Strengths: The response rate for egg donation families was high (85%). Used different methods to capture parent-infant relationship quality and the included many fathers in the study. The sample was recruited from 12 fertility clinics in the UK. | United Kingdom | |
52 | 2018 | Searching for 'relations' using a DNA linking register by adults conceived following sperm donation | Frith, L., Blyth, E., Crawshaw, M. & van den Akker, O. | DNA linking register, Genetic relatives, Identity, Donor-conceived adults, and Search motivations | Link to article | The experiences of donor-conceived adults regarding searching for genetic relations using a DNA linking register | Survey | 65 adults conceived through sperm donation | There was a variety of experienced reportes by the respondents. For some finding out about being donor conceived benefitted family relationships and for others this knowledge disrupted their family. Respondents considered how being donor conceived relates to their sense of identity in different ways. | There is not one single way that donor conceived people make sense of their identity and family relations as a result of finding out that they are donor-conceived. Most of the respondents focused on how it affected their existing family rather than thinking about possible new 'family members' through donor connections. | Limitations: the respondents were mainly women - this is often found in research on DC people. | United Kingdom | |
53 | 2018 | The perspectives of adolescents conceived using surrogacy, egg or sperm donation | Zadeh, S., Ilioi, E.C., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Adolcesence, egg donation, sperm donation, surrogacy | Link to article | Adolescents' perspectives on their conception and their sperm/egg donor and/or surrogate | Interviews | 44 adolescents aged 14, all of whom had been told about their conception in childhood, conceived by surrogacy (22), egg donation (13) or sperm donation (9) to heterosexual couples | Adolescents were found to feel indifferent (32) positive (7), or ambivalent (5) about their conception. Amongst adolescents not in contact with the surrogate or donor, most were interested (16) in the surrogate or donor, and others were not interested (6) or ambivalent (4). When asked what questions they would want to ask the donor/surrogate, knowing the reasons for donation/surrogacy (11) and the donor's/surrogate's interests (7) were the most frequently mentioned. Adolescents in contact with the surrogate or donor expressed positive (14), ambivalent (1) or negative (1) feelings about them. | The majority of adolescents were indifferent about their conception and were either interested in, or enjoyed positive relations with, their donor or surrogate. None of the adolescents were distressed about their conception or birth. | Strengths: The sample are part of a longitudinal study (so not recruited from networks for DC people and their families searching for donor relations, where interest in the donor/surrogate would be expected), and the response rate for this phase of the study was very high. Limitations: Participants had been told in childhood about their conception and were raised in heterosexual couple families and therefore tell us little about the experiences of those in other family configurations, or those who remain unaware of their conception/birth. | United Kingdom | |
54 | 2018 | Why search for a sperm donor online? The experiences of those searching for and contacting sperm donors on the internet. | Jadva, V., Freeman, T., Tranfield, E., & Golombok, S. | Sperm donors, Online searching, Internet, Donor conceptiom, Women’s experiences | Link to article | What are women's motivations for searching for a sperm donor online? | Survey | 429 women looking for a sperm donor using Pride Angel (a website that helps link donors to potential recipients) | Over half of the women saw searching online as having some advantages such as offering the potential to contact and meet the donor. Around a third of the respondents reported disadvantages, such as dishonest donors. Most of the women wanted the donor to not have further contact with the mother and child, so sometimes the mothers knew more than the child about the donor. | Online sperm donation blurs the categories of anonymous, known and identity release donors than clinics try to create and maintain. | Strengths: large sample for the field of over 400 respondents. Limitations: only one website used to find respondents - there are other routes of finding donors using the internet that might have found different results. | United Kingdom | |
55 | 2017 | Being a ‘good’ parent: single women reflecting upon ‘selfishness’ and ‘risk’ when pursuing motherhood through sperm donation | Graham, S. | Selfishness, Risk perception, Motherhood decision-making, Assisted reproduction, and Social stigma | Link to article | Exploring women's thoughts and feelings about pursuing solo motherhood through sperm donation | In-depth interviews | 23 heterosexual women in the UK who were using fertility clinics for anonymous sperm donation | For the women in this study, solo motherhood contrasts from how they thought they would start their family within the context of a couple, which threatens their mothering identity as a 'good' mother. However these mothers mostly expressed that they were comfortable with their choice and felt able to provide what was needed for 'good parenting' hence mitigated the 'risks' of single parent families for their children. | Although solo motherhood is a different route to parenthood than these women expected to take, they found ways to navigate this to prepare for parenting their future child. | Strengths: in-depth study. Limitations: small sample size with women at different stages of the process of pursuing parenthood | United Kingdom | |
56 | 2017 | Children's thoughts and feelings about their donor and security of attachment to their solo mothers in middle childhood | Zadeh, S., Jones, C.M., Basi, T. & Golombok, S. | Solo mothers, Middle childhood, Children’s thoughts and feelings, and Security of attachment | Link to article | How do DC young people born to solo mothers think and feel about the sperm donors involved in their conception? How does this relate to the quality of their relationships with their mothers? | In-depth interviews, qualitative and quantitative analyses, developmental psychology | 19 DC children aged between 7-13 years, 10 of whom were male, and 9 female. All living in the UK. | Most (n=8) children described the donor in minimal terms. Others (n=4) reflected on his biological contribution; described him in terms relating to parenthood (n=4); or expressed ambivalence about him (n=3). Children who were more securely attached to their mothers (e.g. relationships characterised by sensitivity and availability) were more likely to describe the donor positively, and those who were insecurely attached (less high-quality relationships) were more likely to describe him negatively. However interest in the donor did not relate to mother-child relationships. | Children in solo mother families are not uniform in their perceptions of the donor. Their thoughts and feelings about the donor may relate to quality of attachment to their mother. | Strengths: The study findings are based on both quantitative and qualitative analyses. Limitations: The sample size is relatively small, and the age range within it relatively wide | United Kingdom | |
57 | 2017 | Gamete donors' reasons for, and expectations and experiences of, registration with a voluntary donor linking register | Blyth, E., Crawshaw, M., Frith, L. & van den Akker, O. | Gamete donors, Voluntary donor linking register, Donor motivations, Expectations | Link to article | To explore gamete donors' motivations for making identifiable information about themselves available and searching for donor-conceived offspring | Quantitative and qualitative survey | 21 sperm donors and 5 egg donors in the UK | Many of the participants had positive experiences. They reported registering identifiable information not only to provide offspring with information but also because their family wanted to know about any genetic connections. Some expressed concerns about the process of linking, such as how much contact would be expected. | Some gamete donors are interested in making genetic connections however the findings indicate that there should be more support available to donors especially in relation to disclosing to their family members. | Limitations: very few egg donors took part so future research needs to recruit larger samples of egg donors. | United Kingdom | |
58 | 2016 | Absence or presence? Complexities in the donor narratives of single mothers using sperm donation | Zadeh, S., Freeman, T & Golombok, S. | Single mothers, Sperm donation, Donor narratives, Absence and presence, and Donor conception | Link to article | Single mothers' feelings about their anonymous or identifiable donor | Qualitative, psychology | 46 women living in the UK, twenty of whom had used an anonymous donor and 26 with an identifiable donor. All had at least one DC child, aged on average 6.9 years (those with anonymous donors) and 4.5 years (identifiable donors) respectively. | No differences according to whether donor was anonymous or identifiable. Mothers either thought of the donor as someone who was symbolically significant to family life (e.g. as someone who had given a gift), or as someone who was ultimately an absence (e.g. as unknown, part of a process, or out of sight and out of mind) | Single mothers are not uniform in their perceptions of the donor, and they may have quite complex feelings about the donor that change over time | Strengths: A qualitative study based on detailed interviews with mothers, and includes lengthy quotations from them. Response rate is high (73%). Limiations: The sample were recruited from a private fertility clinic so might not be representative. | United Kingdom | |
59 | 2016 | Cross-border assisted reproduction: A qualitative account of UK travellers' experiences | Hudson, N., Culley, L., Blyth, E., Norton, W., Pacey, A. & Rapport, F. | UK patients, Fertility treatment, Medical travel, Assisted reproductive technology (ART), and Legal frameworks | Link to article | Experiences of UK patients who travel overseas for treatment | Qualitative, in-depth interviews | 41 women and 10 men. 83% had travelled abroad for treatment, the remainder had made firm plans to do so | Countries travelled to included those within Europe (most popular: Spain and Czech Republic), and USA, Barbados, India, and Sotuh Africa. Reasons for treatment abroad included a need for treatment using a donor (in 71% of cases). Experiences were broadly positive for the vast majority of participants (e.g. shorter waiting times, quicker test results, low costs; having control over treatment decisions; being treated with care and respect by staff). Two participants had overall negative experiences, relating to logistics and the coordination of care between different countries; uncertainty around safety and trustworthiness of clinics and anxiety about implications of treatment decisions for future child (e.g. amount of donor information); and lack of familiarity with the language and medical system of the country in which treatment was sought. | Despite certain challenges, there is a relatively high level of patient satisfaction with cross-border fertility treatment. | Strengths: the findings indicate various destinations and motivations for treatment among those who participated. Limitations: The sample was not particularly diverse in terms of socioeconomic status and ethnicity, and few men participated. | United Kingdom | |
60 | 2016 | Integrating donor conception into identity development: Adolescents in fatherless families | Slutsky, J., Jadva, V., Freeman, T., Persaud, S., Steele, M., Steele, H., Kramer, W. & Golombok, S. | Identity development, Adolescents, Fatherless families, Psychological adjustment, Family structure, and Disclosure | Link to article | How do donor-conceived adolescents integrate donor conception into their sense of identity? How does this relate to the quality of their relationships with family members? | In-depth interviews and structured questionnaires, quantitative analysis, developmental psychology | 19 adolescents aged between 12-19 years (average age 14), recruited through the Donor Sibling Registry. 12 were born to single mothers, and 7 to same-sex female couples | Those who were securely attached to their caregivers were more interested in exploring their DC, and those who were more insecurely attached were less likely to express curiosity about their DC and/or to avoid thinking about it. | Adolescents' thoughts and feelings about donor conception may relate to the quality of attachment to their caregivers. | Strength: This is the first study to conduct in-depth interviews with DC adolescents and to explore their attachment relationships. Limitations: The sample size is relatively small, suggesting a need for more research on the associations between adolescents' family relationships and feeling about DC. Recruitment through DSR may suggest that participants are more likely to be interested in the donor and/or donor siblings than are the general population of DC adolescents. | United Kingdom | |
61 | 2016 | Single mothers by choice: Mother-child relationships and child adjustment | Golombok, S., Zadeh, S., Imrie, S., Smith, V. & Freeman, T. | Mother–child relationships, Psychological adjustment, Child development, and Emotional well-being | Link to article | What does mothers' and children's wellbeing look like in solo mother families? What is the quality of parenting and mother-child relationships? | Quantitative, developmental psychology | 51 solo mother families and 52 two parent heterosexual couple families all with a 4-9 DC child (sperm donation) - UK | No differences in parenting quality except for less mother-child conflict in solo mother families. No differences in mothers' wellbeing or children's adjustment across family types. For both family types, mothers' perceived financial difficulties and parenting stress predicted raised levels of adjustment problems in children (but still within a normal range) | Being raised by a single mother by choice does not lead to differences in child adjustment compared to children raised in two-parent families. | Strengths: Multi-method and multi-informant (including questionnaires administered to children's teachers; independent observations of mother-child interaction; and independent evaluation of children's problems by a child psychiatrist unaware of the nature of the study). Limiations: A self-selected sample recruited from a private fertility clinic; potential limitations of a small sample | United Kingdom | |
62 | 2015 | Expectations and experiences of gamete donors and donor-conceived adults searching for genetic relatives using DNA linking through a voluntary register | van den Akker. O., Crawshaw, M. & Blyth, E. & Frith, L. | Gamete donors, Donor-conceived adults, Genetic relatives, DNA linking, Voluntary register, and Search experiences | Link to article | Experiences of searching for a genetic link using a DNA-based voluntary register service | Online survey | 65 donor-conceived adults, 21 sperm donors and 5 egg donors in the UK | The main reason for donors or donor-conceived adults for searching for a genetic relative were curiosity and passing on information. Participants expressed positive feelings about being connected with a genetic relative or the possibility of doing so and valued being able to use the register. Donor-conceived adults scored lower on a measure of collective identity than donors. | Donors and donor-conceived adults show curisoity towards finding genetic relatives and some use DNA-based services to search for genetic connections. Overall many participants felt positively about searching for and finding genetic connections. The lowered sense of collective identity amongst donor-conceived individuals indicates the potential importance of a sense of belonging amongst donor-conceived populations. | Limitations: the findings might not be generalisable to individuals who did not register for the service or those who are not interested in making new genetic connections. | United Kingdom | |
63 | 2015 | Psychological adjustment in adolescents conceived by assisted reproduction: A systematic review | Ilioi, E.C. & Golombok, S. | Adolescents, Assisted reproduction techniques (ART), Mental health, and Family relationships | Link to article | Review literature on adolescents conceived through assisted reproduction | Systematic review | Studies with samples of adolescents aged 11 to 18 years-old | The studies generally found that children conceived through different assisted reproduction methods (IVF, egg donation and donor insemination) were well-adjusted and had high quality parent-child relationships. Some differences were found such as some benefits for the adolescent from early disclosure and some studies found greater warmth in reproductive donation families when compared to families who conceived without assistance. | Adolescents conceived using assisted reproduction are psychologically well-adjusted and have positive family relationships. | Strengths: systemtically reviewed all relevant research so usefully compares across different samples. Limitations: the results might not be generalisable to all donor conceived adolescents because of the low rate of disclosure in some of the studies and the small sample sizes that are common for this field of research. | United Kingdom | |
64 | 2014 | I was quite amazed': Donor conception and parent-child relationships from the child's perspective | Blake, L., Casey, P., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Child’s perspective, Parent–child relationships, Identity, Disclosure, Openness, and Emotional experiences | Link to article | Exploring children's perspectives of donor conception and parent-child relationships | Interviews | Children interviewed at age 7 and 10 in three family types; 31 children who were conceived using donor insemination, 28 children conceived using egg donation and 51 children in families who didn't use assistance | Children in all three family types reported positive relationships with their parents. Children who were donor conceived and had been disclosed to by 10 years old generally demonstrated an understanding of donor conception and felt positively about it | A lack of genetic link between parent and child did not influence the closeness of the relationship or affection shown. Children who know about their donor conception at a relatively young age mostly feel positive about the way in which they were conceived. | Strengths: rare insight into young children's perspectives on donor conception. | United Kingdom | |
65 | 2014 | Parent psychological adjustment, donor conception and disclosure: A follow-up over 10 years | Blake, L., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Parent psychological adjustment, Longitudinal study, Mental health, Parent–child relationship, and Emotional well-being | Link to article | Whether donor conception and disclosure relates to parental psychological adjustment | Questionnaires | 50 donor insemination families and 51 egg donation families studied when their child was aged 1, 2, 3, 7 and 10 in the UK. By age 10, the study had retained 34 families with a child conceived by donor insemination and 30 families with a child conceived by egg donation | Most mothers and fathers were well-adjusted psychologically. Disclosing to their child about being donor conceived did not always increase parental psychological adjustment. Disclosure related to lower levels of psychological adjustment for fathers in donor insemination families and for parents when their children are in middle childhood so understand more about donor conception. | The majority of mothers and fathers were well-adjusted however there is variability and so it is important to collect more data and to interview more fathers. The more that is known about telling and how perspectives on disclosure can change over time, the more relevant support can be offered to parents. | Strengths: includes DI and egg donation families, and families who have told and families who plan not to tell. Limitations: small numbers in each group | United Kingdom | |
66 | 2012 | Discovering the 'facts of life' following anonymous donor insemination | Blyth, E. | Anonymous donor insemination, Donor-conceived individuals, Identity development, Legal and policy issues, psychological impact, and Rights to information | Link to article | Donor-conceived adults' experiences of searching for identifying donor information and donor siblings. | Interviews (seven via email, one digitially recorded oral interview) | 8 donor-conceived adults aged 44-65 years-old in the US and UK who are part of a network of individuals conceived at the same fertility clinic | All but one of the participants advocated early disclosure of donor conception and the use of identifiable donors. The participants felt that finding their donor siblings helped them understand more about their genetic history and they enjoyed meeting and getting to know each other and finding out things they had in common. | Donor-conceived adults advocate being told about donor conception and have an interest in knowing identifying information about the donor to have the possibility of establishing connections with the donor and donor siblings. | Strength: in-depth interviews so the researchers asked follow-up questions to clarify understanding. Limitations: really small sample of people all belonging to the same network (they labelled themselves a 'clan') and all were conceived over 40 years ago so might not generalise to those conceived recently | United Kingdom | |
67 | 2012 | Donor-Conceived People’s views and experiences of their genetic origins: A critical analysis of the research evidence | Blyth, E., Crawshaw, M., Frith, L. & Jones, C. | Donor-conceived individuals, Genetic origins, Disclosure, Donor anonymity, and contact preferences | Link to article | Early disclosure outcomes; desire to know more about the donor; search for half siblings; overall attitude to donor conception in offspring | Review of qualitative and Quantitative studies in the field | Donor conceived offspring; review of 14 studies between 2000 -2011. | Early disclosure was predominantly associated with 'neutral' or 'positive' impact on parent-child relationship, although there were some exceptions. There was a range of desire to know more information about the donor, as well as to identify the donor. There was some concern about the possibility of establishing relationships with un-identified genetic relatives. The majority of donor-conceived individuals studied expressed positive attitude to donor conception, with a minority feeling strongly against it. | Most DC offspring expressed neutral or positive feelings about their origins, yet were interested in their genetic identity. | Limitations: most studies are limited to offspring concieved with sperm donation, where anonymity was commonplace and disclosure not advocated; cross-sectional data; different family types and donor status; range of participant ages | United Kingdom | |
68 | 2012 | Genes r us? Making sense of genetic and non-genetic relationships follwing anonymous donor insemination | Blyth, E. | Anonymous donor insemination, genetic relationships, non-genetic parenthood, Identity, Family dynamics, and Kinship | Link to article | Exploring the experiences of adults who were conceived through anonymous sperm donation but later went on to discover the identity of their donor and others who were conceived using the same sperm donor. | Interviews | 8 adults conceived using anonymous sperm donation | Finding donor connections resulted in the participants redefining their own personal histories and kinship connections, highlighting their own agency in shaping their identity and family / kinship network. | Individuals conceived using sperm donation actively construct their own identitites regarding being donor conceived. | Limitation: very small sample size and interviews conducted using email and voice recordings rather than in person. | United Kingdom | |
69 | 2012 | I don't want us to stand out more than we already do': Lesbian couples negotiating connections in donor conception | Nordqvist, P. | Lesbian couples, Family connections, Social visibility, Kinship, Identity negotiation, and Social norms and stigma | Link to article | How do lesbian couples negotiate family connections in donor conception? | Qualitative, sociology | 20 same-sex female couples and 5 individual women in same-sex female couples who had become/were in the process of becoming parents through DC. Those who were parents (14 women) had children aged between 3 months and 7 years. | Respondents expressed concerns about negotiating the tensions between the visibility of their sexuality and how best to protect their children from stigma/homophobia. They tended to 'match' the characteristics of the donor to the non-genetic parent, mostly desiring a donor with a shared ethnic background. Most of the couples had/wanted to have more than one child and wanted their children to be conceived using the same donor. Findings also suggest that naming (particularly surnames) and civil partnerships were perceived to have an important role in managing and displaying relationships between family members. | Same-sex couples seek to establish tangible family connections, and this is at the forefront of their decision-making (e.g. re their choice of donor and choices about legal practices such as surnames and civil partnerships). | Strengths: The study provides empirical and theoretical insights and includes rich interview data. Limitations: Participants were self-selecting, but were recruited through a number of different (offline and online) avenues. | United Kingdom | |
70 | 2011 | Dealing with sperm': Comparing lesbians' clinical and non-clinical donor conception processes | Nordqvist, P. | Lesbian parenthood, clinical vs. non-clinical insemination, Sperm donation, Reproductive decision-making, Parenthood pathways, Family formation, and medicalisation | Link to article | Women's experiences of sperm donation in clinical and non-clinical settings | Interviews | 25 same-sex female couples who used sperm donation in England and Wales | In the mothers' accounts, clinics were seen to 'contain' both the practical side of donor insemination and also the legal side. They helped organise and negotiate the many different aspects of sperm donation. Women who did not use clinics for donor insemination had to negotiate the legal and practical side themselves, including where it should take place and checking medical issues. | There is the potential for more issues to arise for parents who organise donor conception outside of clinics particularly as the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 differentiate between clinical and non-clinical conception. The opportunities and help offered by clinics served to further de-legitimise non-clinical conception and placed it as more risky and dangerous. | Limitations: clinical practice varies across different countries so may not represent all parents' experiences of clinical conception. | United Kingdom | |
71 | 2011 | Secrecy, disclosure and everything in between: Decisions of parents of children conceived by donor insemination, egg donation and surrogacy | Readings, J., Blake, L., Casey, P., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Secrecy, donor insemination, egg donation, Surrogacy, and parent decision-making | Link to article | Parents' decisions about disclosure to child and others in families formed using sperm donation, egg donation, and surrogacy | Interviews | 100 mothers and 73 fathers in heterosexual couples, all with a 7-year-old child. 36 children conceived using sperm donation, 33 by surrogacy (in 21 cases genetic surrogacy), and 32 by egg donation. | Just over half of the children had been told about their origins, with the lowest proportion being those conceived through sperm donation (27%) and the highest being surrogacy born children (genetic surrogacy, 95% told; gestational surrogacy, 75% told). Parents' intentions for telling /not telling (identified when their child was 1) had mostly not changed. In families where children had been told, mothers and fathers were almost entirely in agreement (97%); less congruence between mothers and fathers was found in families who had not told. Reasons for telling included: wanting to be honest, children's right to know, to avoid disclosure, and no reason not to. Reasons for not telling included no need to tell, to protect child, and DC seen as a personal matter. The most common reason for planning to tell but not having yet done so was child age (i.e. too young). The majority of families had told at least one other person about their use of DC/surrogacy. Findings also showed that some parents were 'partially disclosing' e.g. telling about surrogacy but not about the use of the surrogate's egg (in genetic surrogacy); telling about IVF but not about sperm donation; telling about egg donation but not telling the identity of the (known) donor. | Variability in whether or not parents tell was found in treatment type (e.g. using surrogacy, egg donation or sperm donation). Couple congruence in ideas about disclosure should not be assumed. The categories of 'secrecy' and 'openness' may not adequately express how much parents tell (e.g. in cases of partial disclosure). | Strengths: The in-depth interviews with mothers and many fathers. This is a relatively large sample with good response rates overall. | United Kingdom | |
72 | 2010 | Daddy ran out of tadpoles': How parents tell their children they are donor-conceived, and what their 7 year olds understand | Blake, L., Casey, P., Readings, J., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | Parental disclosure, child understanding, early disclosure, Parent–child communication, Age-appropriate language, and Identity development | Link to article | The process of disclosure, mothers' and fathers' feelings about this, and children's reactions | Interviews | 23 mothers, 15 fathers and 12 children aged on average 7 years. Families were formed through sperm or egg donation | The majority of parents had disclosed to their child before the age of 4. Mothers typically initially told children about their DC. Findings suggest variations in what children were told (e.g. majority gave brief, story-like descriptions; others gave a more scientific explanation), and the terms used to refer to gametes (e.g. sperm, eggs, tadpoles, special ingredient) and to the donor (another man/lady, another father, somebody else). Mothers described different feelings about disclosure (e.g. neutral, anxious, disappointed by child's lack of reaction, relieved, mixed emotions, proud and pleased). Fathers mostly described feeling neutral; others felt relieved or positive. The majority of mothers reported that their children reacted neutrally or did not react to information about their DC. From the interviews with children, findings suggest that overall children did not understand DC at this age (two of 12 demonstrated some understanding). | Disclosure was mostly not found to be problematic. No children reacted to disclosure negatively, although interviews with children would suggest that at age 7 they had little understanding of what their parents had told them. | Stength: The fact that the researchers were able to interview mothers, fathers and children members is a clear strength. Limitations: even though all family members were invited to take part, the sample size was small and mothers, fathers and children did not equally participate in the study. | United Kingdom | |
73 | 2010 | Family building in donor conception: Parents' experiences of sharing information | Blyth, E., Langridge, D. & Harris, R. | Disclosure, parent experiences, identity development, assisted reproduction, Parent–child communication, openness | Link to article | Disclosing parents' experiences | Interviews | Heterosexual parents in 15 families (in 12 of the families only mothers were interviewed). 13 families formed using sperm donation and 2 using egg donation | All parents had told their children before the age of 5. For most, telling was motivated by wanting to be open and honest with their children. Other motivations included children's right to know; the practical and emotional challenges of family secrets; and a wish to maintain control over the way in which children learned about DC. All participants had informed close friends and family about DC, citing honesty and trust as the main reasons for this. Many spoke about there being a transition from DC being their information (e.g. related to fertility treatment) to being their child's information. Telling children often involved the use of storybooks, and some parents explained that finding the right language to use was challenging. Participants were keen to know more about the donor and incorporated the donor into their family narratives. | All parents used the 'seed-planting' strategy to tell their children about DC. Disclosure is not necessarily easy and requires support (from clinic staff and beyond). | Strength: there are parallels between these findings and the findings of other studies about disclosing parents. Limitations: The sample size is small and included some parents who were reflecting on their experiences several years ago. | United Kingdom | |
74 | 2010 | Out of sight, out of mind: Family resemblances in lesbian donor conception | Nordqvist, P. | Lesbian families, donor conception, family resemblances, non-genetic parenthood, kinship, and identity | Link to article | Family resemblance in same-sex female couple families who used DI. | Interviews | 45 mothers in same-sex female relationships who used either licensed donor conception or self-arranged donor conception in England and Wales | The mothers' accounts indicated that they tried to match the donor to their physical appearance in order to create a sense of the child being genetically related to both mothers. This was seen as a strategy to negotiate heteronormative assumptions about family and resemblance. If the donor's looks weren't identifiable in the child, then the mothers were seen to place less emphasis on his presence. | The process of choosing the donor in terms of matching physical characteristics to the mothers' characteristics was seen as important.The mothers' strategies for donor matching indicated they were trying to represent themselves as a 'traditional' family . | Strength: in-depth interviews so detailed accounts. Limitation: the mothers were mostly interviewed with their partner so might have monitored what they said compared to being interviewed alone. | United Kingdom | |
75 | 2009 | Families created by assisted reproduction: Parent-child relationships in late adolescence. | Owen, L. & Golombok, S. | Late adolescence, Family functioning, Identity development, parenting, reproductive technology, and adolescents' perspective | Link to article | Parent-child relationships in late adolescence among families formed through sperm donation | Third wave of a multi-method longitudinal study, interviews and questionnaires | Mothers and fathers in 26 families with an adolescent conceived by sperm donation, along with parents in 26 IVF families, 38 adoptive families, and 63 families who had conceived without assistance. Most of the families formed through sperm donation had not told their child(ren) about their DC (two sets of parents had told). | Mothers who had conceived using sperm donation showed a higher level of child to mother warmth, and a higher level of expressed warmth from mothers, than those in adoptive families. Mothers with a DC child also showed significantly higher levels of expressed warmth and emotional involvement compared to those who had conceived without assistance. Mothers via IVF showed lower levels of disciplinary aggression than did those with a DC child. No differences were found between fathers in the different family types with respect to parenting support, warmth, or conflict. | Conception by assisted reproduction, including the use of donor sperm, is not associated with difficulties in parent-child relationships in the adolescent years. | Strengths: The response and retention rates for this study are very high. Limitations: Findings are based on self-reports from mothers (and some fathers) and the study did not include interviews with DC adolescents, the majority of whom were unaware of their DC. | United Kingdom | |
76 | 2009 | Gamete donation: Parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor siblings and donor | Freeman, T., Jadva, V., Kramer, W. & Golombok, S. | Donor search, enetic relatedness, family networks, Identity disclosure, and Parent-child relationships | Link to article | Parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor and donor relations | Survey | 791 parents (39% single mothers, 35% in lesbian couples, 21% in heterosexual couples). Most respondents (98%) were female, had a child via sperm donation (96%), and were living in the USA (91%) | Most parents (87%) were looking for children conceived using the same donor, many were looking for the donor, and many were searching for both. Searches for children conceived using the same donor were most often motivated by curiosity, while searches for the donor were most often relating to children's sense of self. Most parents had not told their children about their search for donor relations (67%) or the donor (71%), and age of child was an important factor in this. Of those who had established contact/met the donor or donor relations, most parents reported positive experiences. In some cases, large numbers of half siblings were identified (largest group size = 55). | More emphasis was placed on searching for donor relations than for the donor by participants. Overwhelmingly, experiences of contact and meeting, either with the donor or donor relations, were positive. | Strength: The sample size for this study is large Limitations: the response rate for the study was low. All participants are members of DSR, and their desire to and experiences of searching may therefore not be typical. | United Kingdom | |
77 | 2009 | Mom by choice, single by life's circumstance...': Findings from a large scale survey of the experiences of women who are 'single mothers by choice' | Jadva, V., Badger, S., Morrisette, M. & Golombok, S. | Parenting experiences, psychological well-being, Social support, Family dynamics, other-child relationship, and single parenthood | Link to article | Motivations and experiences of single mothers by choice | Survey | 291 single mothers by choice with children living in the US, Canada, the UK, other European countries, Australia, Israel, South Africa, and Switzerland. Most had a child aged between 0-7 years. | The vast majority of respondents had assumed they would be a mother one day. Reasons for wanting to have a child included getting older, the timing feeling right, being financially secure, having the feeling that it was now or never, career-related reasons, and friends having children. The majority reported having previously been in long-term relationships in which they had not had a child for reasons including the relationship not being right and timing not being right. As parents, just over half described having as much support as was needed (mostly from their own mothers). The majority said that their children had a male role model, with most stating this to be very important. Some mothers of boys expressed concerns about their child missing out on male-type activities. | Single women who become mothers by choice are a distinct group of single mothers who have reflected at length about their decision to become parents. | Strength: relatively large sample of single mothers. Limitations: Participants were recruited through a website for single mothers by choice and thus may not be representative of all mothers who take this decision. | United Kingdom | |
78 | 2009 | The experiences of adolescents and adults conceived by sperm donation: Comparisons by age of disclosure and family type | Jadva, V., Freeman, T., Kramer, W. & Golombok, S. | Sperm donation, Adolescents and adults, Age of disclosure, Identity development, psychological adjustment, and donor offspring experiences | Link to article | DC adolescents and adults' feelings about their donor and their parents | Survey | 165 sperm-donor conceived adolescents and adults aged between 13-61 years, 75% of whom were female and 25% of whom were male. In terms of parents, 58% of respondents' parents were a heterosexual couple, 23% single mothers and 15% same-sex female couples. The majority (89%) lived in the US; the remainder were in Canada, the UK, Australia and South Korea. | Participants mostly (69%) described feeling curious about their conception. Those told after age 18 were significantly more likely to describe feeling angry, relieved or shocked about their conception. In terms of feelings towards their parents, 40% said they felt no differently toward their mother and 30% said they appreciated her honesty. Those told in childhood were less likely to say they felt angry about being lied to or a sense of betrayal by their parents. Those told in adolescence and adulthood also reported feeling sympathetic towards their mother and were more likely to state that they appreciated her honesty. For those in heterosexual couple families, the most common feeling towards mothers was 'angry at being lied to', and towards fathers, 'sympathetic'. Participants from single mother and same-sex female couple families were more likely to have been told about their conception from a young age. | Those told about their conception in adulthood reported more negative experiences than those told in childhood or adolescence. Age at disclosure was younger for those in single other families and same-sex female couple families. | Strengths: The study had a large sample of DC adolescents and adults, and asked for their perspectives. Limitations: The sample were drawn from DSR membership and thus may not be representative of all DC adults (e.g. those who are not aware of their conception or those who are not curious about their donor relations). The response rate for the survey was relatively low. | United Kingdom | |
79 | 2008 | Prospective parents' intentions regarding disclosure following the removal of donor anonymity | Crawshaw, M. | Prospective parents, Disclosure , donor anonymity removal, donor conception, assisted reproduction | Link to article | Prospective parents' stated intentions to disclose following the removal of donor anonymity | Survey | 40 infertility counsellors and nurses (members of the British Infertility Counselling Association) working in licensed clinics in the UK | Approximately 75% of respondents noted that the removal of donor anonymity had led to a change in prospective parents' stated intentions to disclose. Two-thirds of participants said that prospective parents were more likely to say they would disclose (7% said they were less willing). Additional, open-text responses mentioned the culture of the clinic, the influence of social attitudes about openness, and parents' need for help with how to disclose. | The removal of donor anonymity appears to have impacted upon prospective parents' stated intentions re disclosure, as told to infertility counsellors and nurses, with most of that impact indicating a higher intention to disclose. | Strength: The response rate for this study (62%) is reasonable. Limitations: Notwithstanding the significance of research on the impact of legislative changes on prospective parents, the study is based on the responses of infertility counsellors and nurses. Whether or not what prospective parents tell these contacts relates to their actual intentions, or ultimate actions re. disclosure, cannot be known from the findings. | United Kingdom | |
80 | 2007 | Embryo donation families: Mothers' decisions regarding disclosure of donor conception | MacCallum, F. & Golombok, S. | Embryo donation, disclosure decisions, mothers’ attitudes, and family communication | Link to article | Mothers' views on disclosing donor conception to their children in embryo donation families | Interviews | 21 mothers who used embryo donation in two-parent heterosexual families, children aged 2 to 5 years-old, UK | 9% of mothers had told their child about embryo donation and a further 24% planned to tell. 43% planned on never telling and the remaining 24% had not decided about disclosure. Most of the mothers (72%) had told other family members. | Like parents in families who used sperm or egg donation, mothers showed a range of views about disclosing to their child and reasons for disclosing, or not. | Strength: contacted all embryo donation families with a child aged 2 to 5 years from the participating clinics and had a good response rate of 72%. | United Kingdom | |
81 | 2007 | Past semen donors' views about the use of a voluntary contact register | Crawshaw, M., Blyth, E. & Daniels, K. | Semen donors, voluntary contact register, donor offspring contact, donor attitudes, assisted reproduction | Link to article | Donors' attitudes and views about a proposed voluntary information exchange and contact register | Interviews | 32 sperm donors (at King's College Hospital, London, between 1988-2002) | More than three-quarters of participants (78.1%) supported the idea of a voluntary register and 68.6% said they would use something like this. Different reasons (including moral reasons, reasons related to ideas about welfare/needs of DC people; reasons relating to the potential of reciprocal exchange of information, and reasons related to the importance of genetic relationships) were cited in favour of the voluntary register with varying frequency. Respondents also mentioned donor control over information release and contact and the need for intermediary services/support in discussing their preferred features of a voluntary register. | Overall support for a voluntary register was found, but findings suggest that any such register ought to be accompanied by services and safeguards for donors. | Strength: gives insight into how policy and practice could support donors. Limitations: the response rate for the study (42.8%) is low and the sample is comprised of donors who donated at a single clinic. | United Kingdom | |
82 | 2007 | UK gamete donors' reflections on the removal of anonymity: Implications for recruitment | Frith, L., Blyth, E. & Farrand, A. | Gamete donors, Removal of anonymity, Donor recruitment, attitudes, and Identity disclosure | Link to article | An exploration of existing donors' views about the removal of anonymity in the UK | Survey undertaken by Department of Health | 133 donors, 87 of whom were egg donors and 43 of whom were sperm donors (3 unknown) | Almost half of the respondents indicated that they would still donate if anonymity was removed. Just over a third expressed concerns about the removal of anonymity. A similar proportion were either not worried or pleased about this. The issues and questions raised by the removal of anonymity included future repercussions (62 responses), guarantee of anonymity for previous donors (22 responses) and unwanted financial (17 responses) and emotional (13 responses) responsibilities. | While some donors recruited as anonymous will be reluctant to donate non-anonymously, others' concerns can be addressed by information and counselling provision. | Strength: provides some valuable insight for the context of identifiable donation in the UK. Limitations: no demographic details are available about the sample (e.g. age, marital status, own children) and response rate was relatively low, with donors from a small number of clinics participating. | United Kingdom | |
83 | 2005 | Going it alone: Solo mothers and their infants conceived by donor insemination | Murray, C. & Golombok, S. | Solo mothers, Parenting, Family structure, Assisted reproduction, Child outcomes, and Family dynamic | Link to article | Psychological wellbeing of mothers and quality of mother-child relationships | Quantitative and qualitative, psychology | 27 solo mother families and 50 two-parent heterosexual couple families all with a donor insemination infant aged 6-12 months | No differences between groups for expressed warmth, enjoyment in parenthood or feelings about parental role; levels of social and emotional support; anxiety and depression. Solo mothers showed lower levels of mother‐child interaction and lower levels of sensitivity toward their infant than married mothers. More solo mothers had told at least one other person about DC. Solo mothers appeared to be more open toward disclosing the donor conception to the child than were married mothers. | Solo mother families through DI don't show marked differences from two-parent families when children are infants. Solo mothers were more open to telling their child about DI than married mothers and also were more open to telling others, such as family and friends. | Strengths: Families recruited from different fertility clinics across the UK and there was a high response rate. Limitations: Small sample size | United Kingdom | |
84 | 2005 | Solo mothers and their donor insemination infants: Follow up at age 2 years | Murray, C. & Golombok, S. | Solo mothers, Infants, Child development, Family structure, and Single parenthood | Link to article | Psychological wellbeing of mothers and children and quality of mother-child relationships | Quantitative, developmental psychology | 21 solo mother families and 46 two-parent heterosexual couple families all with a DI child aged 2 | Solo mothers showed greater pleasure in their child and lower levels of anger accompanied by a perception of their child as less ‘clingy’. Fewer emotional and behavioural difficulties were shown by children of solo than married DI mothers. | Having a child as a single mother through DI didn't have a negative effect on parenting quality or the child's adjustment. | Strengths: follow up of a sample recruited from fertility clinics and use of standardised questionnaires and interview. Limitations: With the exception of the assessment of children's cognitive development, all reports were from mothers only | United Kingdom | |
85 | 2001 | An attempt to reconstruct children's donor concept: A comparison between children's and lesbian parents' attitudes towards donor anonymity | Vanfraussen, K., Ponkaert-Kristoffersen, I. & Brewaeys, A. | Donor concept, anonymity, Children’s attitudes, Lesbian parents, and Family dynamics | Link to article | How DI children and their lesbian parents construct their image of the donor | Qualitative, follow up | 41 children aged 7-17 and 45 parents | Desire to know more about the donor was present in just under half of the children; most of these would have liked identifying information about the donor, with the remainder satisfied with non-identifying data. The majority of mothers preferred the donor to remain anonymous. | Children in lesbian families had much more interest in knowning more about the donor than their mothers did. | Strength: longitudinal study so the families were studied over time. Limitations: Mean age of children at the time of interview was 9 years old so their views might change as they get older and develop more understanding of genetics / identity | United Kingdom | |
86 | 2000 | What does it mean to be a donor offspring? The identity experiences of adults conceived by donor insemination and the implications for counselling and therapy. | Turner, A.J. & Coyle, A. | Donor offspring, insemination, Identity, Counselling Assisted reproduction, and Disclosure | Link to article | Identity experiences of donor offspring | Qualitative, counselling psychology | 16 sperm donor conceived adults aged between 26-55 from USA, Canada, Australia, and UK | Many respondents felt shock at discovering their DC and believed that withholding information had been damaging. They believed in the right to know their origins and had made enquiries about searching though expressed concerns about other people being either unsympathetic or judgemental. | The donor-conceived individuals in this study struggled with some aspects of learning about being donor-conceived and trying to understand what that might mean for their sense of identity. | Limitations: Recruited through support networks and it is not clear what kinds of support groups. Also the use of questionnaires can limit collecting in-depth qualitative data (but data seems extensive) | United Kingdom | |
87 | 2025 | Matching, friending, and swiping for sperm donors: an environmental scan of the digital landscape of online sperm donation | Francesca Taylor-Phillips, Georgina Jones & Rhys Turner-Moore | Online sperm donation, fertility, co-parenting, donor conception, and digital families | Link to article | To explores the digital landscape of online sperm donation by examining how donors and recipients connect online through websites, apps, and social media platforms etc. | Exploratory review | No participants as it is not an empirical study | The study maps the digital network of sperm-donation platforms such as apps, websites and social media. Article does not survey individual donors or recipients. Highlights how tools like swiping or friending influence relationships, transparency, and talks between parties. It draws attention to safety, legal, and medical issues in informal, unregulated donation environments. | Article investigated how these platforms shape interactions, user control, anonymity, and decision-making. It draws attention to the safety, legal, and medical issues associated with informal, unregulated online platforms. | Strengths: Limitations: does not include interviews or surveys with donors or recipients, therefore lacks personal experiences or motivations. Data or conclusions may become outdated quickly due to how fast paced and dynamic online platforms such as social media is. | United Kingdom | |
88 | 2023 | A comparative study of sperm and egg donors’ personal description and goodwill messages | Nayla Tohme, • Rachel Cutting, • Zeynep Gürtin, • Vasanti Jadva | Donors, Goodwill messages. | Link to article | Goodwill messages and donor motivation in the UK | Qualitative analysis | A total of 131 (76 egg and 55 sperm) donor information forms and goodwill messages written to recipients of donor gametes dating from 2011 to 2021 were analysed | Some differences did emerge between the content of egg and sperm donor information forms and goodwill messages. | Greater support and information provided at the point of donation, can help donors improve the information that they share and offer more consistency. More guidance is needed on the forms. | The writer emphasises the importance of goodwill messages given that the prospect of finding a donor remains very uncertain. The study helps to broaden the understanding of donors' motivations.(And there's a round-up of research to date on donor motivations etc in the Introduction to the study). Comments on the study can be found Here | United kKingdom | |
89 | 2025 | The psychological adjustment of donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents over two decades: differences by donor type and contact with the donor | Carone, N., Koh, A. S., Bos, H. M. W., Rothblum, E. D., & Gartrell, N. K. | Sperm donation, lesbian parents, anonymity, open-identity. | Link to article | Psychological stability of donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents over 21 years across four developmental stages and the impact of donor contact during established adulthood. | longitudinal study | 70 donor-conceived offspring from 84 families | No major psychological differences between male and female children Levels of anxiety, depression, and withdrawal were low and stable over time for all, no matter what type of sperm donor used. Behaviors like aggression followed a normal pattern: they dropped during the teen years, rose slightly in early adulthood (ages 17–25), and then dropped again in the thirties. This trend was the same for all donor types. | Behavioural trend was the same for all donor types. By their thirties, people who had contacte their sperm donor had similar mental health scores to those who had not. | Strengths: The stability of psychological adjustment across donor types highlights the importance of fostering supportive family environments. Limitations: predominantly White, cisgender sample which reduces generalizability across more diverse populations. | United States | |
90 | 2025 | A Randomized Pilot Trial of the Donor Conception Tool to Empower Parental Telling and Talking (TELL Tool) with Their Children About Their Genetic Origins | Hershberger, P, Gruss, V ∙ Steffen, A D, Adlam, K ∙ Driessnack, M. ∙ Grotevant, H, Klock, S C, Pasch, L A, Bhagat, R ∙ Gallo, A G | Donor, Gamete Donation, TELL Tool, Parent-chid relationship | Link to article | Effectivness of the TELL Tool impacting parents’ communication strategies around children’s genetic origins | Randomized parallel, two-group, attention-controlled clinical pilot trial | 75 Parents of children ages 0-12 | The tool was feasible and well-received (85% enrollment, 68% retention), at 4 and 12 weeks post intervention parents in the TELL Tool group reported increased confidence in disclosing their children's donor conception and decreased anxiety, in comparision to the control group. The TELL Tool was further supported by pediatric nurse practitioners who saw it as a valuable resource for preliminary advice and counseling in clinical settings. | The TELL Tool is the first evidence-based tool created to aid parents and nurse practioners with telling and informting donor conceived people with increased confidence. | Strengths: The tool was developed through a process that incorporated input from parents, clinicians, and donor-conceived adults utilising the Decision-Making Process model and experiential learning theory, this ensures that the content is founded in both empirical research and practical experience. Limitations: Relatively small sample of 31 parents used, which may limit the generalisability of the findings. Also the study was conducted during COVID-19 pandemic. The study assessed outcomes at 4 and 12 weeks post-intervention, this period of time would need to be extended to definitively state whether or not the benefits of the TELL Tool are sustained overtime. | United States | |
91 | 2024 | The ethics of egg sharing | Meera Shah, M.D., Samuel Pang, M.D., Lydia Hughes, M.D., Katie Watson, J.D., Eve C. Feinberg, M.D., and Eric A. Widra, M.D.e | Egg sharing, Reproductive ethics, IVF, Oocyte donation, Fertility treatment access, Patient autonomy. | Link to article | To examine the ethical and practical implications of egg-sharing programs within Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART), specifically, programs in which individuals undergoing IVF receive reduced treatment costs in exchange for donating some of their eggs to others. | Scholarly ethical commentary and analysis | No participants as it is not an empirical, qualitiative study | Raise complex ethical questions about consent, autonomy, and fairness. on egg sharing programs where women undergoing IVF receive reduced treatment costs in exchange for donating some of their eggs. Egg sharing can increase access to fertility treatment by lowering costs, however, there is a risk of exploitation or undue pressure on women who may feel financially compelled to donate. Therefore, fully informed and voluntary consent is critical, but difficult due to the emotional and financial vulnerability of patients. | Ethical guidelines and oversight are essential to safeguard donors and recipients alike. Open and clear dialogue among clinicians, ethicists, patients, and regulators is needed to refine practices and policies. Continued research to patient experiences are necessary to improve the ethical conduct of egg-sharing programs. | Strengths: Written by experienced clinicians and ethicists from reputable fertility centers and academic institutions, which increases credibility. Presents a range of viewpoints and acknowledges complexities rather than promoting a simplistic position. Limitations: Focuses mainly on clinical ethics with a U.S. context, which does not represent diverse cultural or global viewpoints. Authors are affiliated with fertility clinics, which might influence perspectives, even unintentionally and introduce bias. | United States | |
92 | 2024 | Adopted and donor-conceived children hold reduced genetic-essentialist beliefs relative to traditionally-conceived children | Peretz-Lange R & Kaebnick, H | Adopted and donor concieved (ADC), Traditionally-concieved (TC), Adoption task, Genetic | Link to article | Adopted and donor-conceived children's view of nature/nurture contributing roles | Quantitative, comparitive study | Children (n = 95, 4-8 years old) including 30 adopted or donor conceived (no details of how many in each group) and 65 traditionally conceived children | Reduced Genetic-Essentialist Beliefs in Adopted and Donor-Conceived Children in comparision to those traditionally conceived. These findings challenge the assumption that genetic essentialism is a universal way of thinking and highlight the role of personal and family context in shaping children’s concepts of identity. | Adopted and donor-conceived children tend to hold less genetic-essentialist views compared to traditionally conceived children, therefore likely to see genes as the sole or fixed determinants of who they are. | Strengths: By comparing adopted, donor-conceived, and traditionally conceived children, the study highlights meaningful differences in genetic-essentialist beliefs across diverse family structures. Limitations: Self-Report Bias may be introduced as children’s self-reports about beliefs can be influenced by social desirability or limited introspective ability at certain ages. Genetic essentialist beliefs could vary widely with age and cognitive maturity. | United States | |
93 | 2023 | Sperm donor relations among adult offspring conceived via insemination by lesbian parents | Fernando Salinas-Quiroz, | Anonymous sperm donor, donor insemination, lesbian parents, open-identity sperm donor. | Link to article | How adult offspring of lesbian parents relate to their anonymous, open-identity, or known donors. | An online survey then participating in Wave 7 of a U.S. 36-year longitudinal study | 75 donor-conceived offspring of lesbian parents, ages 30-33 years | Most 18+ offspring in contact was m ost curious of family background and health history as a means to discoverng an increased sense of identity. | No donor concieved offspring use the term 'father' for their donor regardless of being in contact or not. Most participants are satisfised with the level of contact with donor, that includes the no-contact offspring. | Strengths: 36‑year longitudinal study enhances reeliability of the findings. The partcipants were recruited before they were even born which reduces bias of participants wanting to participate for their own motivations. Limitations: Participants mostly white and from highly educated families therefore not a representative group. | United States | |
94 | 2022 | Sociological Accounts of Donor Siblings’ Experiences: Their Importance for Self-Identity and New Kinship Relations | Rosanna Hertz | Kinship, donor-families, donor-siblings and identity | Link to article | How donor-conceived teens and young adults navigate relationships with their half siblings | Qualitative - Interviews | 62 donor-conceived youth aged 14-28 (median age 17.5); 36 were females. Majority white, heterosexual, middle-class background. | There are three main stages of making contact with siblings: anticipation, first contact, and relationship building. Once relationships are established social media plays a key part in maintaining relationships of siblings overtime. | On average 70% of the youth formed meaningful relationships with atleast one donor sibling. Girls were most likely to keep in regular contact via social media in comparision to boys. | Strengths: Connections that donor siblings can form will help establish identity, for example, genetic or personality traits in common. Limitations; Potential bias from those interested in contact. Lack of follow up interviews due to limited funding. | United States | |
95 | 2022 | Discovery of unexpected paternity after direct-to-consumer DNA testing and its impact on identity | Michele Grethel, Jennifer Lewis, Rob Freeman, Courtney Stone | Qualitative study, exploratory, not confined to donor conception - any unexpected parentage situations. | Link to article | Discovery of unexpected paternity after direct-to-consumer DNA testing and its impact on identity | Qualitative | 27 adults aged 40-70, United States | The study explored the impact of unexpected parentage on identity, and the process of integration of newly found information as adults. | Unexpected paternity through direct-to-consumer DNA testing can trigger a profound identity crisis, marked by emotional distress, loss of trust, and a reevaluation of personal and familial identity. | Identity transformation after unexpected DNA results is often accompanied by intense change in personal and community identity and a shift in identity related to race, ethnicity, religion, family status, belonging, or other facets of one's self. Temporal trauma, grief, and loss are common outcomes. Isolation, shame, and a lack of emotional support are prevalent. | United States | |
96 | 2021 | The stability of psychological adjustment among donor-conceived offspring in the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study from childhood to adulthood: differences by donor type | Carone, N., Gartrell, N. Rothblum, E., Koh, A., & Bos, H. | Lesbian family, donor type differences, childhood to adulthood, and Family dynamics | Link to article | To examine if there are any differences in child outcomes based on sperm donor type using data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study | Cohort study using questionnaires | 74 children in same-sex female couple families who were conceived using a sperm donor. 26 had an anonymous donor, 26 a known donor and 22 an open-identity donor. Findings are from when the children were 10, 17 and 25 years-old | There were no differences in internalising, externalising or total difficulties based on type of donor. However, across all types of donor families, the children's difficult behaviours decreased between the ages of 10 and 17, then increased between 17 and 25. Yet, the majority of participants scored within the typical range. | Having an anonymous, known or open-identity sperm donor does not influence child adjustment across middle-childhood, adolescence and early adulthood. | Strengths: longitudinal study so provides information across differences stages of childhood and adolescence. Limitations: limited diversity in the sample demographics and might not be generalisable to different countries with different laws about donor anonymity | United States | |
97 | 2020 | Finding people like me: contact among young adults who share an open-identity sperm donor | J.E. Scheib *, E. McCormick, J. Benward, and A. Ruby | Telling/openness, sperm donation, DC people, Abroad | Link to article | Half-sibling connections | Qualitative | 47 donor conceived adult, USA | The study found that contact with, and interest in contact with same-donor peers, occupies an important position in DC adults' thinking about their identity. Most participants reported feeling positive about the contact with same-donor peers, and where that contact had not yet occured, there was significant interest in it happening. | The experience of DC adults with an open identity sperm donor can provide essential insight into the the way donor conception can be managed in families and organisations. Early disclosure of family origins and identifying the donor did not diminish the young adults’ interest in their same-donor peers. Positive experiences suggest that benefits of contact. Implications include the need to educate families and intended parents about the potential benefits of knowing others who are donor conceived. | Findings relate specifically to the experience of an open-identity donor, where donor originsa are learned in childhood. | United States | |
98 | 2018 | New realities for the practice of egg donation: a family-building perspective | Pasch, L. | Egg donation, Parent-child relationships, Genetic identity, Ethical considerations, and Fertility treatment | Link to article | To explore how practices around egg donation have changed over time | Review | Many different studies are commented on with a wide variety of samples of participants | There are three new realities for egg donation families: 1. it is no longer solely the parents' decision about disclosing about donor conception because of the rise in DNA testing 2. donor anonymity is a lot less common now 3. making contact between donor relations and maintaining contact is much more common now and might in the future become the norm. | The author recommends that, based on these new realities for families, then it is important to shift from a medical perspective of egg donation to a family building perspective i.e. instead of seeing gamete donation just as a way to conceive for someone struggling with fertility issues, then it should be seen as a way of builidng a family with the end goal of positive family functioning. | Limitations: a lot more research still needs to be done to better understand the experiences of egg donation families. | United States | |
99 | 2017 | Who requests their sperm donor's identity? The first ten years of information release to adults with open-identity donors | Scheib, J.E., Ruby, A. & Benward, J. | Sperm donors, open-identity donors, Donor-conceived adults, Identity release, and Information requests | Link to article | Requests for identifying information among DC adults with open-ID donors | Analysis of records and interviews | Records data: 256 families formed using open-id sperm donation through the Sperm Bank of California (US), of different configurations (heterosexual couples, same-sex female couples, and single mother families). Interviews with 64 participants who had completed the id-release process. | Adults from 33% of families contacted the program to receive donor information during the first 10 years of possible release. Women were more likely to request than men, as were those in single mother families (compared to same-sex couple and heterosexual couple families). Having heterosexual couple parents halved the likelihood of requesting information compared to the other family configurations. Participants were on average age 18 at request. The majority (59/63) had donors willing to be contacted, although the level of this contact varied (e.g. from mail/email to in-person meeting). The main motivation for requests was desiring more information, specifically relating to the donor as a person & his appearance. Most had low or no expectations about what would happen after receiving the information and/or potentially contacting the donor. | Donor information is important to a significant proportion of those conceived using donor sperm. | Strengths: Access to records allowed for longitudinal analyses (i.e. who requests and when) of a bank-based sample (e.g. not self-selected). Limiations: it is not known how many of those who could have requested identifying information were aware of their conception (so the figure of 33% should be treated cautiously as an indicator of interest in donor information) | United States | |
100 | 2015 | Female-partnered and single women's contact motivations and experiences with donor-linked families | Goldberg, A.E. & Scheib, J.E. | Female-partnered women, Single women, Donor-linked families, Contact motivations | Link to article | To research mothers' motivations for and experiences of contacting other families who share the same sperm donor | Interviews | 14 single mothers and 36 mothers in same-sex female couples in the US who used donor insemination and have been matched to at least one donor-linked family. Their children were 15 years-old or under when contact was first made. | Single and coupled mothers seek out contact with donor-linked families to establish support or because they are curious about their child's genetic relatives. Mothers feel a range of emotions about contact with donor-linked families who are both 'strangers' and potentially 'signifcant people' for their family. | Limitations: the findings are probably not representative of families who are not open to searching and contact. | United States | ||
101 | 2015 | Why donor insemination and not adoption? Narratives of female-partnered and single mothers | Golberg, A.E. & Scheib, J.E. | Motivations, Adoption, Female-partnered mothers, Single mothers, and Family formation | Link to article | To explore single and coupled women's reasoning for using donor insemination to start their family | Interviews | 36 coupled mothers and 14 single mothers who used sperm donation in the US. | Although many of the mothers had considered adoption, reasons for not pursuing adopting included finding aspects of biological parenthood desirable (such as pregnancy or genetic connection) and worries over potential issues with adoption (such as the unpredictable process and potential for elevated adjustment difficulties in adoptive children). | Women who are single or coupled express pursuing donor insemination instead of adoption for a variety of reasons including perceived benefits of biological parenthood and perceived difficulties with adoption. | Strengths: this study can be used to help professionals working with families to understand parents' reasons for different routes to parenthood. | United States |