DC Journal Club - March 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).
Should you search for other families who used the same donor? When should you tell your child that genetic half-siblings might exist? What level of contact makes sense for your family? I wrote about these decisions and what research actually shows about same-donor peer relationships.
Sonja Klug, founder of Storydo, wrote a guest post about how parents’ donor conception conversations with children are stories to keep building rather than talks to get through, drawing on research about elaborative reminiscing. And then, I tried to create some practical guidance on how to do it!
Research Recap
Gilman and Davis (2026) interviewed 49 UK participants (30 intended/recipient parents, 19 sperm donors) about how digital technologies shape informal donor conception knowledge management. Four interconnected theme emerged: managing identifying information, (dis)embedding connections, communicative knowledge, and creating digital artifacts.
Volks et al. (2025) interviewed 24 Australian egg donors who met recipients through online platforms (23 donated to multiple families). Donors described strong empathy for recipients arising from reproductive difficulties or witnessing others' struggles. Online platforms enabled direct recipient selection based on shared values and perceived openness to contact, with platform discourse emphasizing early disclosure significantly influencing decisions.
Hurley and Goedeke (2026) interviewed nine New Zealand participants (two embryo donor couples, one recipient couple, three individual recipients) with donor-conceived children aged 2-8 about early contact. All described strongly positive experiences with kin-like connections, choosing partners based on shared values.
Hershberger et al. (2026) interviewed 20 US parents (6 pregnant, 15 with children aged 3-24 months, mostly White female) and 10 clinicians about disclosure needs. All parents intended to tell children about donor conception, citing honesty and transparency, though several reported no healthcare professional discussed disclosure despite required counseling sessions. Clinicians, particularly outside the fertility setting, felt unprepared to counsel families, constrained by time (15-minute appointments) and lacking training. Parents requested support via multiple delivery modes, customization by family/donation/donor anonymity type, peer connections, privacy protection, and low/no cost.
van Rooij et al. (2026) interviewed 17 Dutch donor-conceived people (average age 32, mostly women) who met sperm donors through professionally supported counseling. Motivations included seeking resemblances, incomplete identity, curiosity, medical information, and closure, often triggered by major life events. Those with identifiable donors had straightforward paths through government bodies, while those with formerly anonymous donors experienced long, emotionally draining searches with repeated dead ends and clinic discouragement. The gap between expectations and actual meetings shaped experiences.
Other Tidbits
Researchers with Morehouse Center for Maternal Health Equity are recruiting Black participants who have considered or used fertility treatments (ovulation-inducing medication, IUI, or IVF) since June 2022 to examine how abortion bans impact fertility care decision-making. The study involves a 20-minute online survey with optional in-person focus groups in Atlanta (April 15, 3:00-5:00pm during Black Maternal Health Week) or Raleigh (April 25, 11:00am-1:00pm during National Infertility Awareness Week). Focus group participants receive incentives and meals. The study team includes people who have used medically assisted reproduction and aims to improve Black families' experiences and outcomes with fertility care. To participate: https://bit.ly/ReproIntersect
In Psychology Today, Zoe Weil describes discovering at age 51 through 23andMe that she was donor-conceived with 62 half-siblings, an experience that was both fascinating and deeply unsettling as it called into question "how much of who we think we are is woven from stories told to us and by us and layered on like garments we eventually mistake for our self."
Professor Vasanti Jadva delivered an inaugural lecture at City St George’s, University of London reflecting on 25 years of research examining families formed through assisted reproduction including IVF, egg and sperm donation, and surrogacy.
Riki Lindhome’s song about asking someone to be a known sperm donor had me rolling.
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe