Maternal fears about donor contact don't prevent disclosure plans

Families created via identity-release egg donation: disclosure and an exploration of donor threat in early childhood (Lysons, 2023)

Lysons, J., Imrie, S., Jadva, V., & Golombok, S. (2023). Families created via identity-release egg donation: Disclosure and an exploration of donor threat in early childhood. Reproductive BioMedicine Online, 47(4), Article 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2023.05.007

Geographic Region: United Kingdom

Research Question: What are mothers' disclosure intentions and practices regarding disclosure to their children from infancy to early childhood?

Design: Longitudinal study with two phases. Parents participated in interviews in Phase 1 (October 2013 - June 2015) when children were ages 6-18 months and in Phase 2 (July 2018 - December 2019) when children were 5 years old. Qualitative content analysis for donor threat assessment. Point-biserial correlation to examine relationship between donor threat and disclosure.

Sample: 61 heterosexual-couple families that used egg donors. Mothers were aged 33-52 years and fathers were aged 32-62 years in Phase 1. All mothers identified as White British.

Key Findings

• When their babies were young, about 3 out of 4 mothers planned to tell their children they were conceived using donor eggs. By the time the children were 5 years old, half of the parents had already started these conversations. Most of the other parents still planned to tell their children, they just hadn't done it yet. Only a very small number of parents decided not to tell their children..

• Almost half of the mothers (45%) weren't worried at all about the donor or future contact. About a third (32%) had some small concerns but were generally positive. Very few mothers (9%) had serious concerns about the donor or future contact. There was no association found between perceived donor threat and disclosure practices.

• Most couples (about 3 out of 4) agreed with each other about whether and when to tell their child. When parents disagreed, it was usually about timing - like one parent had started telling while the other wanted to wait.

• Some parents didn't fully understand that their donor could be identified in the future. Parents who understood this were more likely to be open with their children. Most parents who understood they used an identifiable donor planned to tell their children they could get information about the donor at age 18.

Limitations: Possible over-representation of participants favoring disclosure due to attrition of those uncertain or planning non-disclosure. Limited ethnic diversity in the sample. Low father participation rates. Sample limited to heterosexual couples.

Applications:

• Highlights importance of couple agreement on disclosure strategy

• Highlights importance of educating parents about identity-release implications

• Suggests need for support services for families managing disclosure process

Funding Source: Wellcome Trust (Grant number 208013/Z/17/Z)

Lead Author: Jo Lysons is a Research Associate at the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge, UK, specializing in psychological well-being of parents and children in families created through various forms of assisted reproduction.

Regulatory Context

• The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) is the UK's independent regulator overseeing fertility treatment and research using human embryos.

• In 2005, the UK changed its laws regulating gamete donation from anonymous donation to identifiable donation.

• As of October 2023, donor-conceived people conceived on or after April 1, 2005, can access information about their donor's identity and request information about the identity of any donor siblings who have also expressed interest in contact at age 18.

• Those conceived before the law change in 2005 do not have the same legal right to identifying information about their donors, who were guaranteed anonymity at the time of donation.

• The UK has a voluntary register called the Donor Conceived Register (DCR), which allows donors and donor-conceived people from before 2005 to voluntarily register and potentially match with each other.