The Big Question
Hear from experts as they tackle the big questions facing donor conception families. A FREE guest speaker series exclusively for DCN members.
Our next Big Question: ‘Shared donor, shared family? Research into genetic half-siblings’
2 December 2026, with special guest Dr Astrid Indekeu
For our next Big Question we wanted to tackle the issue of half-sibling connections. We know this is a topic that many parents are grappling with. They are looking to understand more about the experiences of families and donor conceived people (DCPs) who are making these connections. They want to hear more about how and when these connections are being made and understand how DCPs view these relationships.
To help us explore the topic, we’ve invited Astrid Indekeu to present a summary of the research we have so far and what her experience of supporting families has shown.
Astrid has been working for nearly 20 years in the field of donor conception as a researcher, clinical psychologist and policy advisor. She is, amongst other things, founder of and practitioner at DONAE, a support and expertise centre in Belgium for families after donor conception.
Our last Big Question: ‘What can we learn from the world of adoption?’ – 11 March, 2026
Donor conception isn’t the same as adoption, but there are overlaps. Both share questions around how to manage information about a child’s origins and how to integrate other people who are closely genetically related into their family story and potentially into their lives.
The donor conception community, and DC Network specifically, have learned a lot from the experience and approach of the adoption and post-adoption community. This webinar explored the crossover and how much we’ve gained from listening and learning.
With special guests Marilyn Crawshaw and Susie Blamire.
Rewatch this event
If you’re a DCN member, you can watch this and all the previous Big Question webinars again in our members’ area. Please note that you’ll need to be a current member and be logged in to access this page.
Not a member yet? It costs just £8 per month to join us and we’d love you to welcome you to our friendly community – visit our Membership pages to explore all the benefits of being part of the Network.
What is The Big Question?
We’re exploring the questions and common concerns that we often hear from families and prospective parents in our Network.
We invite a different expert to join us each time to address a ‘big question’. Whether you’re considering using a donor, are already a parent via donor conception or are a professional in the field of assisted reproduction, we hope you’ll find this series a great benefit of your DCN membership. These webinars are free to attend and are only available to DCN members.
Missed an event? Members can access the recordings in our Members’ area here.
Recent topics on The Big Question
Over the past year, our Big Question webinars have tackled some fascinating issues. Dr Sophie Zadeh opened the series with research into the emotional and psychological wellbeing of young adults, asking: “How are donor conceived young people really doing?” In January 2025, Jana Rupnow, author of Three Makes Baby, explored: “How do I feel like the ‘real’ parent?” In September 2025, Professor Vasanti Jadva and embryologist David O’Rourke tackled the question, “How is embryo donation different?” joined by Yael and Nina from the DCN team, and then most recently, we invited Marilyn Crawshaw and Susie Blamire to join us and discuss the question, “What can we learn from the world of adoption?”
Members can rewatch all of these Big Question webinars in our Members’ Area.
Feedback from attendees for our previous events
‘Thank you so so much, as always it is so wonderful to be part of DCN, and to hear the perspective of an international speaker. So beautiful to have emotions and feelings validated and spoken.’
‘I thought that this event was really excellent. Dr Sophie Zadeh is a very accomplished speaker and I found the findings of her
important research very interesting. Thank you to DCN for arranging this!’‘As a professional working in the field, it was so valuable to gain insights from lived experience to share with potential recipients as they consider planning their family via donor conception.’
‘Such a thorough and interesting talk, and with plenty of time for questions. Thank you!’