DC Journal Club - July Round Up
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This month, I shared my thoughts about four books by journalists who investigated the fertility industry while navigating their own donor conception experiences: Rachel Lehmann-Haupt's personal exploration of modern family formation, Valerie Bauman's exposé of underground sperm donation, Dov Fox's podcast examining trust after industry deception, and Sarah Dingle's investigation into systemic corruption after discovering her own donor-conceived origins.
Research Recap
A 2024 study by Lassen and colleagues tracking Danish sperm donors across four decades found that while helping childless couples (yes, that was the phrasing in the survey) remains the primary motivation for donation, donors increasingly prefer identity-release arrangements and want updates about pregnancies, with 54% choosing to be identifiable in 2022 compared to only 29% in 2012.
A 2023 study by Pacey and colleagues analyzing 11,712 sperm donor applications from Denmark and the USA found that only 3.79% of applicants were ultimately accepted as donors, with identity-release donors significantly more likely to be approved than anonymous donors (4.7% vs 3.2%) and Danish applicants having higher acceptance rates than US applicants (6.5% vs 1%).
A 2025 study by Jociles and colleagues interviewing 38 Spanish egg donors found that three-quarters (74%) would be willing to have some form of contact with donor-conceived children, with 47% accepting contact if initiated by the children themselves and 26% actively desiring contact, despite Spain's current anonymous donation system.
A 2023 study by Fuchs Weizman and colleagues comparing embryo donation programs in Canada found that participants in directed donation (where donors and recipients know each other) reported significantly higher satisfaction than those in anonymous programs, with all directed cases that resulted in pregnancy maintaining ongoing relationships despite most donors initially stating they didn't want future contact.
A 2025 study by Andreassen and colleagues found that clinic staff view sperm donors as biological products needed only at conception, while parents see them as real people with rich histories, and donor-conceived adults consider future possibilities with donors and donor siblings, revealing how different stakeholders experience donor conception through vastly different time perspectives.
A 2025 scoping review by Porwal and colleagues analyzing 29 studies found that genetic carrier screening in gamete donation creates complex challenges across stakeholders, with donors expressing mixed feelings about comprehensive testing, recipients highly valuing screening information for donor selection, healthcare professionals feeling inadequately prepared to interpret results, and gamete banks struggling to maintain donor pool sizes as screening detects more carriers.
A 2025 study by Nordqvist and colleagues found that people's responses to unexpected DNA matches from donor conception exist on a continuum from enthusiastic embrace to complete rejection, with reactions heavily influenced by their beliefs about whether genetic connections automatically create family bonds and their fears about disrupting existing relationships.
A 2025 systematic review by Fusco and colleagues analyzing 46 studies over three decades found that couples using donor conception generally maintain healthy relationship dynamics and stability comparable to other families, with the key exception that couples who partially agree on disclosure decisions experience more relationship stress than those in full agreement.
Other Tidbits
Did you hear that the founder of Cryos started an app for crowdsourcing known donors?
I’m keeping an eye on how biotech is writing about donor-conceived people as they cover the world’s oldest baby and three-parent babies.
Joy Peskin writes about how learning at age 22 that she was donor-conceived ultimately helped her understand her father.
A new article about the Spring sperm donor scandal in the Netherlands (there’s also a podcast version (30 min) of the story). If you read Dutch, there’s a 2023 book about the experiences of 22 Dutch donors from the seventies, eighties, and nineties.
Gerrit is a private sperm donor who insists on complete transparency. This 40-minute documentary offers a glimpse into the life of a German man, his family, and his 30 donor offspring.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe