Building extended families through embryo donation: the experiences of donors and recipients

How do embryo donors and recipients understand and experience embryo donation (ED)?

Donors and recipients regard the genetic link between donors and donor-conceived child as significant, and draw on metaphors of ED as adoption and as building extended family networks in order to manage the complex interplay of genetic, gestational and social aspects of reproduction and family-building.

The uptake of embryo donation internationally is relatively low and there has been little research into the outcomes and experiences of ED for donor and recipient families.

Embryo donors and recipients in New Zealand were interviewed between March and October 2012 as to their understandings and experiences of embryo donation.

Participants were recruited from across New Zealand and interviews were conducted with 22 donors (10 couples, 2 individuals) and 15 recipients (5 couples, 5 individuals). Interview data were analysed thematically to identify factors that influenced their perspectives and affected their experiences.

The genetic link between donors and offspring is regarded as bestowing immutable social ties by both donors and recipients. This makes ED a difficult choice for both donors, who experience a sense of ongoing responsibility for offspring welfare, and for recipients, who may have concerns about the donor-offspring bond. Disclosure of genetic background is regarded as critical for the welfare of both the donor-conceived child as well as siblings in the donor family. Both donors and recipients draw parallels between ED and open adoption practices, and draw on extended family constructs in order to describe their relationship to each other.

Donors and recipients were interviewed at various stages of the ED process, and experiences may change over time.

The comparison of ED with open adoption practice and the metaphor of extended family-building both help make sense of and complicate the ED experience. These concepts help to structure expectations for the assessment for ED, the disclosure of donor conception, and the nature of relationships, information-exchange and contact.

This study was funded by an AUT University Faculty of Health Environmental Sciences research grant.