An alternate path to parenthood that has endowed families around the world, donor conception raises a multitude of questions about identity, genetics, and ethical considerations. This week on All Together: The Family Science Insights Podcast, host Marie Stella is joined by Wendy Karmer, the co-founder and director of the Donor Sibling Registry, to explore these questions and more.
Founded in 2000, Donor Sibling Registry was founded with Wendy Karmer’s donor-conceived son Ryan, to assist individuals conceived as a result of sperm, egg, or embryo donation, who are seeking to make mutually desired contact with others with whom they share genetic ties. With over 93,000 members in 105 countries, the DSR has helped connect more than 26,250 members with their half-siblings and/or biological parents. Wendy Karmer has listened to, advised, consulted, and researched thousands of these parents, donors, donor-conceived people, and other donor family members.
In this episode, Wendy Karmer asserts that the reproduction medicine industry is highly unregulated, with much information supplied by sperm banks or donor clinics being misinformation as part of marketing efforts to draw in more clients. She reveals that in the digital age, the ‘anonymity’ typically promised by such clinics is near-impossible to achieve, with social media platforms and DNA tests readily available for public consumption: Wendy Karmer cites her son Ryan as an example of a donor-conceived child being able to locate their biological parent all on their own.
Together, Wendy Karmer and Marie discuss the importance of open conversations in donor-conceived families, from when to disclose such information to a child, to various ways to normalize these conversations. So, whether or not you’re planning to embark on the route to donor conception, tune in for an incredibly eye-opening episode!
Follow Wendy Karmer’s work via the following websites: The Donor Sibling Registry: https://donorsiblingregistry.com PsychologyToday: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/wendy-kramer
Produced by the Family Science Labs, a division of LMSL, the Life Management Science Labs.
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