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1 | Date | Article name | Authors | 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 | Key words |
2 | 2024 | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing: the perspectives and experiences of donor conceived young adults in the UK | Zadeh, Sophie | https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1j4xv5ErseEoyn | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing, as it relates to the experiences of DC adults | Qualitative analysis | 33 young adults | 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 | Donor conceived people, DNA testing, Direct to consumer DNA testing | |
3 | 2023 | Legal age limits on accessing donor information: experiences of donor-conceived people, parents, sperm donors and counsellors | Sophie H. Bolt1 , A. Janneke B.M. Maas1 , Astrid Indekeu1 , Inge van Nistelrooij2 | https://www.rbmojournal.com/article/S1472-6483(24)00035-X/fulltext | 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 | Donor-conceived people, identifiable donor, age limits, donor information, donor conception, legal frameworks |
4 | 2023 | A comparative study of sperm and egg donors’ personal description and goodwill messages | Nayla Tohme, • Rachel Cutting, • Zeynep Gürtin, • Vasanti Jadva | Link to study and related comment about the study | 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 | Donors, Goodwill messages. |
5 | 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. | https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/345502 | 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. | Longitudinal, Outcomes, Parent, Children, Relationship |
6 | 2023 | Experiences and attitudes of Danish men who were sperm donors more than 10 years ago; a qualitative interview study | Stina Lou 1 2 3, Stina Bollerup 1, Morten Deleuran Terkildsen 1 3, Stine Willum Adrian 4, Allan Pacey 5, Guido Pennings 6, Ida Vogel 2 3 7, Anne-Bine Skytte 8 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36791066/ | 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 | Donors, qualitative study, cultural context | |
7 | 2022 | Discovery of unexpected paternity after direct-to-consumer DNA testing and its impact on identity | Michele Grethel, Jennifer Lewis, Rob Freeman, Courtney Stone | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/fare.12752 | 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. | 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. | Qualitative study, exploratory, not confined to donor conception - any unexpected parentage situations. | |
8 | 2022 | Egg donation in the age of vitrification: A study of egg providers’ perceptions and experiences in the UK, Belgium and Spain | Sara Lafuente-Funes, Christina Weis, Nicky Hudson, Veerle Provoost | https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-9566.13590 | Donors (egg providers’) experiences in the context of vitrification and related commercialisation | Qualitative - cross-country comparison | 75 Egg donors | The study informs our nderstandings of how egg donation is managed in practice through policies and regulationso n the practice, and how this results in different donation experiences and expectations relating to the donation and its impact | Different practices and regulations lead to different experiences for the women involved in egg donation, varying by the contextual environment in which the donation is undertaken. | Donors | |
9 | 2022 | Fatherlessness, sperm donors and ‘so what?’ parentage: arguing against the immorality of donor conception through ‘world literature’ | Dr Grace Halden | https://mh.bmj.com/content/early/2022/04/24/medhum-2021-012328 | 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. | ||
10 | 2021 | Secret Shame—Male Infertility and Donor Conception in the Wake of Retrospective Legislative Change | Cosson, B, Dempsey, D & Kelly, F. | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1097184X211038329 | The impact of finding out about the donor on relationships with mothers and fathers, and points to the persistent effects of stigma and shame about donor conception within families. | Qualitative | 17 donor conceived people | Secrecy about men’s infertility is heavily reliant on women’s emotional labor to protect ageing infertile fathers’ sense of manhood. Coupled with fathers’ overt resistance to openness, intergenerational secret keeping is perpetuated in families. | The impact of holding onto and sharing donor conception information within familes plays out in similar ways, with the mothers bearing the emotional burden of this dynamics | Family relationships, sperm donation, DC people, | |
11 | 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. | 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. | Family relationships , Donors, Abroad, DC people |
12 | 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 | https://www.erkenmenopoz.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/eylule8.pdf | Known donors, egg donation | cross-sectional, qualitative study. | known egg donors and recipients | The study highlights a number of implications in known egg donation, arising from the relationships involved. | Known egg donor | ||
13 | 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. | 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. | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Double/embryo donation, Single women |
14 | 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. | 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 | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Same-sex female couples, Abroad, DC people |
15 | 2020 | "Making the child mine": Mothers' thoughts and feelings about the mother-infant relationship in egg donation families | Imrie, S., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Family relationships, Egg donation |
16 | 2020 | Islamic beliefs on gamete donation: The impact on reproductive tourism in the Middle East and the United Kingdom | Siobhan Chien | https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1477750920927175 | 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 | ||||
17 | 2020 | Single mothers by choice: Parenting and child adjustment in middle childhood | Golombok, S., Zadeh, S., Freeman, T., Lysons, J. & Foley, S. | 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. | Family relationships , Sperm donation, Single women, DC people |
18 | 2020 | The psychological wellbeing of ART children: What have we learned from 40 years of research? | Golombok, S. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Single women, Same-sex female couples, Same-sex male couples, DC people |
19 | 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. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Same-sex female couples, Same-sex male couples, Abroad |
20 | 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 | 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. | Telling/openness, sperm donation, DC people, Abroad |
21 | 2019 | “Is blood thicker than water?” Donor conceived offspring subjective experiences of the donor: A systematic narrative review | Canzi, E., Accordini, M., & Facchin, F. | 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. | Sperm donation, Egg donation, Abroad, DC people |
22 | 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. | 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. | Sperm donation, Donors |
23 | 2019 | Psychological well-being of identity-release egg donation parents with infants | Imrie, S., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Egg donation |
24 | 2018 | Direct-to-consumer DNA testing: The fallout for individuals and their families unexpectedly learning of their donor conception origins | Crawshaw, M. | 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. | Family relationships, DC people, Half sibs |
25 | 2018 | Families created by egg donation: Parent-child relationship quality in infancy | Imrie, S., Jadva, V., Fischel, S. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Family relationships, Egg donation |
26 | 2018 | New realities for the practice of egg donation: a family-building perspective | Pasch, L. | 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. | Family relationships , Egg donation, Family building |
27 | 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. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, DC people |
28 | 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 | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29237004/ | 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 | 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. | |||
29 | 2018 | The perspectives of adolescents conceived using surrogacy, egg or sperm donation | Zadeh, S., Ilioi, E.C., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Egg donation, DC people |
30 | 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. | 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. | Sperm donation |
31 | 2017 | Being a ‘good’ parent: single women reflecting upon ‘selfishness’ and ‘risk’ when pursuing motherhood through sperm donation | Graham, S. | 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 | Sperm donation, Single women, Family building |
32 | 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. | 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 | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Donors, Single women, DC people, Half sibs |
33 | 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. | 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. | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Donors |
34 | 2017 | Single fathers by choice using surrogacy: Why men decide to have a child as a single parent | Carone, N., Baiocco, R. & Lingiardi, V. | 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). | Egg donation, Single men, Abroad, Family building |
35 | 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. | 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) | Anonymity/identifiability, Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Donors, DC people |
36 | 2016 | Absence or presence? Complexities in the donor narratives of single mothers using sperm donation | Zadeh, S., Freeman, T & Golombok, S. | 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. | Anonymity/identifability, Sperm donation, Donors , Single women |
37 | 2016 | Cross-border assisted reproduction: A qualitative account of UK travellers' experiences | Hudson, N., Culley, L., Blyth, E., Norton, W., Pacey, A. & Rapport, F. | 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. | Sperm donation, Egg donation , Double/embryo donation, Abroad, Family building |
38 | 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. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Donors, Single women, Same-sex female couples, DC people |
39 | 2016 | Single mothers by choice: Mother-child relationships and child adjustment | Golombok, S., Zadeh, S., Imrie, S., Smith, V. & Freeman, T. | 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 | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Single women |
40 | 2016 | Wayward relations: Novel searches of the donor-conceived for genetic kinship | Klotz, M. | 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 | Telling/openness, Donors, DC people, Half sibs |
41 | 2015 | Emerging models for facilitating contact between people genetically related through donor conception: A preliminary analysis and discussion | Crawshaw, M., et al. | 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 | Abroad, DC people |
42 | 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. | 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. | Sperm donation, Egg donation, Donors, DC people |
43 | 2015 | Female-partnered and single women's contact motivations and experiences with donor-linked families | Goldberg, A.E. & Scheib, J.E. | 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. | Mothers desired contact for either support for their child about being donor-conceived or for themselves, or to have information about shared traits between their children and others conceived using the same sperm donor. Mothers reported trying to balance the potential benefits of contact with genetic links with their immediate family's needs. Participants had a range of experiences with contact, ranging from positive to negative. | 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. | Sperm donation, Single women, Same-sex female couples |
44 | 2015 | Psychological adjustment in adolescents conceived by assisted reproduction: A systematic review | Ilioi, E.C. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Egg donation , DC people |
45 | 2015 | Why donor insemination and not adoption? Narratives of female-partnered and single mothers | Golberg, A.E. & Scheib, J.E. | 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. | Sperm donation, Single women, Same-sex female couples, Family building |
46 | 2014 | I was quite amazed': Donor conception and parent-child relationships from the child's perspective | Blake, L., Casey, P., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Egg donation, DC people |
47 | 2014 | Parent psychological adjustment, donor conception and disclosure: A follow-up over 10 years | Blake, L., Jadva, V. & Golombok, S. | 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 | Telling/opennness, Sperm donation, Egg donation |
48 | 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. | 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. | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Double/embryo donation, Abroad |
49 | 2012 | Discovering the 'facts of life' following anonymous donor insemination | Blyth, E. | 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 | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Abroad, DC people, Half sibs |
50 | 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. | 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 | Anonymity/identifiability, Family relationships, Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Single women, Same-sex female couples, DC people, Half sibs |
51 | 2012 | Genes r us? Making sense of genetic and non-genetic relationships follwing anonymous donor insemination | Blyth, E. | 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. | Sperm donation, DC people, Half sibs |
52 | 2012 | I don't want us to stand out more than we already do': Lesbian couples negotiating connections in donor conception | Nordqvist, P. | 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. | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Same-sex female couples, Family building |
53 | 2011 | Dealing with sperm': Comparing lesbians' clinical and non-clinical donor conception processes | Nordqvist, P. | 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. | Sperm donation, Same-sex female couples |
54 | 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. | 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. | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation |
55 | 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. | 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. | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation, DC people |
56 | 2010 | Experiences of offspring searching for and contacting their donor siblings and donor | Jadva, V., Freeman, T., Kramer, W. & Golombok, S. | Link to article | Donor-conceived individuals' experiences of searching for and / or contacting a donor or donor sibling | Survey | 165 donor-conceived (sperm donation) offspring in heterosexual couple, same-sex female couple, or single mother families, aged 13 to 61 years-old, mostly in in the US | 15% of respondents were searching for donor siblings, 13% for their donor, and 64% were searching for both. There were some differences based on family type, such as those in heterosexual couple families were less likely to tell their father than those in same-sex female couples to tell their non-biological mother. Most of the respondents who had found donor relations had positive experiences and many were in regular contact with them. | Some donor-conceived individuals have success searching for and contacting donor relations and for many this is a positive experience. The main reason for searching was curiosity. | Strength: explored perspectives from individuals across a range of ages and from different types of family. Limitations: low response rate and didn't explore the perspectives of people who had looked for donor relations not using the DSR | Sperm donation, Donors, Single women, Same-sex female couples, Half sibs |
57 | 2010 | Family building in donor conception: Parents' experiences of sharing information | Blyth, E., Langridge, D. & Harris, R. | 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. | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation |
58 | 2010 | I just want more information about who I am': The search experience of sperm-donor offspring, searching for information about their donors and genetic heritage | Cushing, A. | Link to article | Search experiences of sperm-donor offspring | Interviews | 16 sperm-donor conceived adults aged between 22-59. 14 women and 2 men, all living in the US | Most participants had begun searching as soon as they were told they were donor conceived (those told when they were young children usually began searching in their teens). Searching methods included: contacting the doctor involved in providing treatment; contacting the sperm bank; looking to school records/yearbooks; using a genetic genealogy test; using the internet. Some found support groups and several had used DSR. Those who had identified the donor varied in their experiences, including experiences of rejection. Most had not been successful in their search. | Participants were mostly unsuccessful in searching for their anonymous donors. Those that had identified their donor sometimes had difficult experiences of this. The experience of searching is emotionally charged, and often coupled with searching for support. | Strength: In-depth interviews with extensive quotations included in the article. Limitations: The study was focussed on people searching for their donor who were recruited from an electronic mailing list for DC people, and may not be reflective of more general thoughts and feelings about donor conception. | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Donors, DC people |
59 | 2010 | Out of sight, out of mind: Family resemblances in lesbian donor conception | Nordqvist, P. | 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. | Sperm donation, Same-sex female couples |
60 | 2010 | The views of adult offspring of sperm donation: Essential feedback for the development of ethical guidelines within the practice of assisted reproductive technology in the United States. | Mahlstedt, P.P., LaBounty, K. & Kennedy, W.T. | Link to article | Attitudes towards donor conception and the practice of sperm donation in the US. | Survey | 85 adult offspring conceived using sperm donation in the US | Many of the respondents had been disclosed to as an adult and expressed a range of views, from positive to negative, about their conception. Many of the respondents were in support of having information about the donor made available to donor-conceived individuals. | Participants supported openness in disclosing about the use of sperm donation, thought it was important that identifying information about the donor is made available to offspring and considered the importance of counselling as part of the process of sperm donation. | Strength: informs an understanding of donor concevied indiviuduals' opinions on sperm donation and the practice of sperm donation so could shape policy. Limitations: recruited from a support group | Telling/opennness, Sperm donation, Abroad, DC people, Ethics |
61 | 2009 | Families created by assisted reproduction: Parent-child relationships in late adolescence. | Owen, L. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Family relationships , Telling/openness, Sperm donation |
62 | 2009 | Gamete donation: Parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor siblings and donor | Freeman, T., Jadva, V., Kramer, W. & Golombok, S. | 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. | Sperm donation, Egg donation, Donors, Single women, Same-sex female couples, Half sibs |
63 | 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. | 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. | Sperm donation, Single women, Family building |
64 | 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. | 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. | Family relationships, Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Single women, Same-sex female couples, DC people |
65 | 2008 | Prospective parents' intentions regarding disclosure following the removal of donor anonymity | Crawshaw, M. | 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. | Anonymity/identifiability, Telling/openness |
66 | 2007 | Embryo donation families: Mothers' decisions regarding disclosure of donor conception | MacCallum, F. & Golombok, S. | 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%. | Telling/openness, sperm donation, Egg donation, Double/embryo donation |
67 | 2007 | Past semen donors' views about the use of a voluntary contact register | Crawshaw, M., Blyth, E. & Daniels, K. | 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. | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Donors |
68 | 2007 | Strategies for disclosure: How parents approach telling their children that they were conceived with donor gametes | MacDougall, K., Becker, G., Scheib, J. & Nachtigall, R.D. | Link to article | (How) do parents who conceive through sperm or egg donation plan to tell their children about their DC? | Interviews | 141 heterosexual couples recruited from clinics/banks across four counties in North Carolina, 79 who had conceived through egg donation (oldest child aged avg. 3.6 years), and 62 who had conceived using sperm donation (oldest child aged avg. 7.2 years). 68 couples who used egg donation had told (23%) or planned to tell (58%) their child compared to 48 couples who used sperm donation (32% told, 45% plan to tell). These couples are focussed on in the article. | All couples (regardless of donation type) used one of two strategies for disclosure, sometimes mixing both: (i) 'Seed planting' (e.g. early disclosure so child has always known; typically beginning when child aged 3/4 and starts asking questions; casual and recurring information sharing); (ii) 'right time strategy' (e.g. using 'window of opportunity'; typically beginning when child aged 6/7 years old; disclosure viewed as a singular event; also involved ideas about the 'right way' to disclose). Findings also suggest some gender differences re. disclosure preferences and a variety of feelings post-disclosure (ranging from neutral to relief; no regret/negative outcomes reported). | Different approaches to disclosure include 'seed-planting' and 'right time' strategies. Regardless of approach, no parents were found to feel negatively after having disclosed DC to their child. | Strength: in-depth interviews. Limitations: A self-selected sample living in a relatively affluent and politically and culturally liberal context; unclear whether plans to disclose map on to actual disclosure which shows a need for longitudinal research. | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Egg donation |
69 | 2007 | UK gamete donors' reflections on the removal of anonymity: Implications for recruitment | Frith, L., Blyth, E. & Farrand, A. | 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. | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Egg donation, Donors |
70 | 2005 | Adolescents with open-identity sperm donors: Reports from 12-17 year olds | Scheib, J.E., Riordan, M. & Rubin, S. | Link to article | Experiences of adolescents with open-identity sperm donors and level and type of interest in the donor | Survey | 29 DC adolescents aged 12-17 years in households headed by lesbian couples (n=12), single women (n=11) and heterosexual couples (n=-6), of a total of 48 whose parents had conceived at the Sperm Bank of California; had participated in the study themselves; and were willing to consider their child participating. | Vast majority had always known about their origins and this information had a neutral to positive effect on their relationship with their birth mother. Most were somewhat to very comfortable with their donor conception. In terms of talking about their DC with others, about half were quite open, and just over a third were very private. All were at least neutral about their donor, with almost half feeling somewhat to very positive. Most were curious about the donor (particularly what he is like) | Most of the adolescents were comfortable with the way in which they were conceived and showed some interest in the donor, including wanting to know the donor's identity. | Strengths: insight into the adolescents' own perspectives about donor conception and identity-release donors. Limitations: small sample size especially for making comparisons between the different family types | Anonymity/identifiability, Sperm donation, Single women, Same-sex female couples |
71 | 2005 | Going it alone: Solo mothers and their infants conceived by donor insemination | Murray, C. & Golombok, S. | 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 | Family relationships, Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Single women |
72 | 2005 | Solo mothers and their donor insemination infants: Follow up at age 2 years | Murray, C. & Golombok, S. | 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 | Family relationships, Sperm donation, Single women |
73 | 2004 | Parents' knowledge about the donors and their attitudes towards disclosure in oocyte donation | Klock, S.C. & Greenfeld, D.A. | Link to article | Knowledge about egg donor amongst heterosexual couples and plans for disclosure, and whether the amount of information given relates to disclosure intentions. | Survey | 62 heteosexual couples (71% of whom had used an anonymous donor; 19% known donor, 10% donor they had met once), with at least one child (average age 2.8 years-old) | Just over half of respondents (59% of women and 52% of men) had told or planned to tell their child about conception. More women than men (82% vs. 66%) had told somebody else about having used a donor and many (60% of women and 62% of men) regretted this. Greater knowledge about the donor was associated with having told/plan to tell child for men but not for women. | Just over half of heterosexual couples using egg donation had told or planned to tell their children about their conception. Most had told other people, but many regretted doing so. | Strengths: Participants were recruited from five different sites across the USA. Limitation: Response rate of 31.4% is relatively low. | Anonymity/identifiability, Telling/openness, Egg donation |
74 | 2002 | Missing links: Identity issues of donor-conceived people | Hewitt, G. | 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. | Anonymity/identifiability, Family relationships, Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Abroad, DC people |
75 | 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. | 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 | Anonymity/identifiability, Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Same-sex female couples, DC people |
76 | 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. | 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) | Telling/openness, Sperm donation, Abroad and UK, DC people |
77 | 2000 | Choosing between anonymous and identity-release sperm donors: Recipient and donor characteristics | J.E. Scheib *, M. Riordan and P.R Shaver | LInk to article | Choosing a donor | Quantative and qualitative study of recipient parent choices | Review of recipient selection criteria and telephone interviews. A total of 152 participants | Recipients choose sperm donors in part based on the donors' physical attributes, health history, and personality or character. Over the years, there has been an increase in wanting to know more about the donor. This was potentially motivated by the desire to help anticipate what their children will be like and with explaining the children's DI conception. | Matching may serve multiple functions
beyond decreasing perceptions of non-genetic relatedness between a recipient's partner and the child and may help recipient parents to navigate their sharing and experience of donor conception. This was evident in all family types. | Limitations include the high proportion of recipient parents who were lesbian couples (74%) | Donor selection, Abroad, anonymous vs open-ID |
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