How family bonds affect donor-conceived teens' identity journey
Integration of donor conception into identity and parental attachment: adolescents in heterosexual-couple and lesbian-couple families (Groundstroem, 2024)
Groundstroem, H., Paulin, J., Sydsjö, G., & Lampic, C. (2024). Integration of donor conception into identity and parental attachment: adolescents in heterosexual-couple and lesbian-couple families. Reproductive BioMedicine Online. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbmo.2024.104758
Geographic Region: Sweden
Research Question: Is parental attachment related to the integration of donor conception into identity among adolescents in heterosexual-couple and lesbian-couple families following identity-release oocyte and sperm donation?
Design: Cross-sectional survey conducted 2022-2023 as part of the Swedish Study on Gamete Donation, a multi-center longitudinal study following families using gamete donation treatment from 2005 to 2008. Used validated IPPA instrument to measure attachment to parents. Used DCIQ subscales to measure Curiosity and Avoidance regarding donor conception. Data analyzed using multiple linear regression analyses.
Sample: 100 donor-conceived adolescents, ages 13-16 years (78% response rate) from three family types: Lesbian-couple families with sperm donation (n=50), Heterosexual-couple families with sperm donation (n=27), and Heterosexual-couple families with oocyte donation (n=23). All participants were aware of their donor conception. Most had been told before age 8. A large majority of heterosexual-couple families were still living together, while less than half of lesbian-couple families were still cohabiting.
Key Findings:
Teenagers in all types of families generally had strong, secure relationships with both their parents.
Most teens weren't highly preoccupied with their donor conception - they didn't show strong curiosity about it, nor did they try to avoid thinking about it.
The type of family they grew up in (whether they had heterosexual parents or lesbian parents) didn't make a difference to these findings.
The strength of the relationship with the gestational parent (mother) didn't affect how curious or interested they were in their donor conception.
Teens who had stronger bonds with the co-parent (either their father in heterosexual families or co-mother in lesbian families) were actually less curious about the donor.
Limitations: Risk of attrition bias with less well-functioning families potentially dropping out. Limited statistical power for subgroup analyses due to sample size. Possible selection bias as recruitment was done through parents.
Applications: Strong family bonds are possible regardless of genetic connections. Family relationships might influence how teens process and think about being donor-conceived. Different levels of curiosity about donor conception are normal. Professionals need to consider the wider emotional context of the family when discussing donor conception.
Funding Source: Not explicitly stated
Lead Author: Henrik Groundstroem is a licensed psychologist and Ph.D. student at the Department of Psychology at Umeå University, focusing on the long-term psychosocial functioning of families with identity-release donor-conceived children.
Regulatory Context:
Sweden was one of the first countries to implement identity-release donation, passing legislation in 1984 that went into effect in 1985.
Only altruistic gamete donation is allowed. Donors can receive compensation for expenses and inconvenience, but not payment for the gametes themselves.
Both sperm and egg donation are permitted. Embryo donation became legal in 2019.
Same-sex female couples have had access to donor insemination since 2005 and IVF since 2016. Single women gained access in 2016.
Donation is only allowed at authorized fertility clinics. Private arrangements are not legal.
All prospective donors and recipients must undergo counseling and medical/psychological screening.
Donors must be 18 years or older.
Anonymous donation is prohibited. All donors must agree to be identifiable to offspring.
Donor-conceived individuals have the legal right to obtain identifying information about their donor when they reach "sufficient maturity," typically interpreted as age 18, though no specific age is mandated by law.
Parents are encouraged, but not legally required, to tell children about their donor conception. However, the information is recorded in medical records that the child can access as an adult.
There are restrictions on how many children/families can be created from one donor's gametes, but the exact number can vary between clinics.
A central register of all donor treatments is maintained by the National Board of Health and Welfare.
Donors do not have any legal or financial obligations to offspring. They are not considered the legal parents.