DC Journal Club - April Round Up
Please let me know if you have any feedback for the newsletter or topics you’d like me to explore. You can email [laura at dcjournalclub dot com] or message on Substack or Instagram (@dcjournalclub).
Menno Hofman decided to become a sperm donor during his final year of high school, two weeks before learning he was donor-conceived himself. At one relatively small Dutch clinic, he found at least two other donors who were also donor-conceived, raising questions research hasn't yet explored: What draws donor-conceived people toward becoming donors? In a guest post, Hofman argues that if we want to avoid harms of mass donation while meeting donor need, understanding donor-conceived donors could inform more thoughtful and ethical recruitment.
Research Recap
Maas et al (2026) interviewed 19 Dutch donor-conceived individuals about motivations and experiences seeking sperm donor information and contact. Curiosity ranged widely from minimal to deep preoccupation, with most interested in donor personality and medical history. The approaching age-16 access threshold heightened awareness even among those not previously curious. Many expressed stronger curiosity about donor siblings than donors, viewing them as potential social network extensions offering shared experience, though large numbers of unknown genetic relatives and possibility of inadvertent romantic encounters caused anxiety for some. Relationships with donors varied from single meetings to close ongoing bonds.
Volks et al. (2026) interviewed 12 Australian egg recipient parents, 12 South African egg donors, and 9 South African infertility counselors about expectations regarding donor anonymity in cross-border reproductive care. Australian recipients expressed discomfort with anonymous South African donations, believing children would want donor identity and anticipating eventual identification through direct-to-consumer genetic testing or online research. Donors understood donation as anonymous with no ongoing relationship, preferred anonymity, and received no counseling about future contact possibility, identification through genetic testing, or recipients in other countries holding different anonymity expectations. The mismatch between recipient expectations of future identification and donor expectations of permanent anonymity reveals gaps in cross-border implications counseling.
Goedeke et al. (2026) mapped psychosocial support and counseling services for donor-conceived people, parents, donors, and families across ten countries (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, Belgium, Netherlands, UK, Germany, Ireland, Sweden). Pre-conception counseling is mandatory in five countries, offered but not required in two; only recommended in four. Post-conception support is rarely mandated. Netherlands provides government-funded counseling for identity release and donor-linking; Belgiam offers free unlimited support; some Australian states introduced free counseling. Peer support organizations exist but are volunteer-run, unfunded, and complement rather than replace professional support.
McCormick (2025) surveyed and interviewed 50 individuals forming 25 LGBTQ US couples about choosing between known versus unknown sperm donors. Overall 54% reported moderate-to-high decisional conflict; nearly half of couples were “discordant” with partners, reporting meaningfully different conflict levels. Trans and nonbinary participants (n=15) reported similar conflict levels. Some strongly disliked known donor suggestions (worried about masculine presence threatening their role as “real dad”), while others wanted known donors as “more queer” community-building.
Esmaeilivand et al. (2026) surveyed 171 Western Iranian infertility patients (117 women, 54 men) about attitudes toward oocyte donation. Participants showed generally positive attitudes toward egg donation overall with no gender differences in scores. They strongly favored anonymity between donors/recipients and children/donors. Higher male educational level was associated with stronger preference for donor-recipient anonymity. Support for disclosing egg donation use to future children was low, reflecting cultural concerns about lineage (nasab), social judgment, and family reputation, though female educational level showed modest positive association with disclosure-related attitudes.
Jacxsens et al. (2026) analyzed 23 publicly available first-person blogs written by egg providers (predominantly American). Bloggers shared highly personal accounts, motivated by desire to ensure others felt less alone and better informed than they had been. Blogs functioned as comprehensive practical guides covering hormone injections, egg retrieval, recovery, OHSS complications, using medical terminology with lay explanations. Despite sharing painful, frightening, sometimes traumatic experiences, bloggers consistently did not discourage donation, framing difficulties as things to prepare for rather than reasons to avoid, with painful experiences “worth it” for potential parental joy (only “not worth it” when compensation inadequate). Authors argue bloggers function as informal peer recruiters within framework of gendered altruism.
Drewniak et al. (2026) interviewed 20 adults conceived through anonymous sperm donation who found out ages 10-42 to build a three-phase identity framework. Identity Formation, or how and when individuals learn about donor conception shapes everything that follows, with late discovery consistently harder than planned conversations; participants understood parents’ secrecy given historical norms and stigma. In the second phase, Identity Exploration, nearly everyone wanted donor information (appearance, age, work, donation motivation, character) not father figures or ongoing contact. In Identity Integration, some reached places where donor conception became one story part rather than defining aspect, while major life events (becoming parent, new relationships, DNA testing) reopened questions even for those feeling settled; smaller group experienced finding out as ground-shaking requiring complete identity rebuilding.
Other Tidbits
Erica Webb shares her story about finding out she and her sister are donor-conceived and from different donors. Donna Hall talks about meeting half siblings in her 40s.
Ruby Liu examines the commodification of reproduction after repeatedly seeing Instagram ads offering $250,000 for Chinese egg donors meeting specific requirements.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe