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An attempt to reconstruct children's donor concept: a comparison between children's and lesbian parents' attitudes

K Vanfraussen1, I Ponjaert-Kristoffersen, A Brewaeys

  • 1Department of Developmental and Life Span Psychology, Dutch speaking free University of Brussels, 1050 Brussels, Belgium. katrien.vanfraussen@vub.ac.be

Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)
|August 31, 2001
PubMed

Insights

Children born via donor insemination (DI) have varying desires regarding donor information, with many wanting to know the donor's identity. This contrasts with their mothers' preference for donor anonymity, highlighting differing family perspectives.

Area of Science:

  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Psychology
  • Sociology

Background:

  • Investigated the donor concept in children conceived via donor insemination (DI).
  • Focused on children raised by lesbian parents.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To understand how DI children and their mothers perceive the donor.
  • To explore children's and parents' attitudes towards donor status.

Main Methods:

  • Follow-up study with 41 children (7-17 years) and 45 parents.
  • In-depth topic interviews to reconstruct perceptions of the donor.
  • Collected data on birth stories and conversations about donor characteristics.

Main Results:

  • 54% of children preferred donor anonymity; 46% desired more information.
  • Most children wanting information preferred knowing the donor's identity (boys > girls).
  • Children desired donor knowledge, while most mothers preferred anonymity.

Conclusions:

  • Opinions on donor status differ between DI children and their families.
  • A flexible donor system is needed to accommodate diverse family needs.
Abstract

Keywords:
Empirical ApproachGenetics and Reproduction

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