This workshop is for parents of donor-conceived children aged 0-7 years. Not sure how to begin a conversation with your child about their donor conception story? Maybe you’re unsure about whether telling is the right thing to do? Or perhaps you’re concerned about who to tell and not tell in your life? Our Telling & Talking workshop is designed specifically with your needs and questions in mind. It provides a safe and confidential space for you to explore the benefits of telling and how to get started. This workshop is equally appropriate whether you had treatment in the UK or abroad, with a known, identifiable or anonymous donor or if your treatment involved surrogacy. You may be wondering how to start talking to your child about their donor-conceived origins, or you may have already begun this process and would like to explore what may come up in the future.

Donor conception, difference and decision making. A workshop for heterosexual couples thinking about using an egg, sperm or embryo donor (potentially also with surrogacy). **A transformative, in-depth workshop to help you understand what donor conception would mean for you and your family and decide if this path is right for you.** The Destination Parenthood workshop from DCN offers a transformative experience by providing a supportive community, firsthand experiences, ongoing peer support, comprehensive information, and emotional relief. A unique opportunity to gain valuable insights and make informed decisions about your family-building journey. **Why join this workshop:** * An intimate, personalised space in which you can work through your feelings. * Understand your – and your partner’s – emotions, motivations, hopes and fears * A guided programme from which you’ll come out with a clearer idea of the next steps for you on your fertility journey **Don’t miss:** * Includes a male facilitator and dedicated opportunity for men to talk separately from their partners * Bonus session with a donor conceived adult where you can ask questions and hear their perspective **After the workshop, you will:** * Have a better understanding of your own emotions about taking this route, as well as those of your partner * Feel more confident about the next steps, whatever they might be for you * Feel less alone by meeting others on the same journey as you * Have heard real-life experiences from parents via donor conception who have older children * Gain valuable insights into how donor conceived people feel about their origins, through a Q&A session with a DC adult and post-event resources pack * Benefit from ongoing support after the workshop thanks to a WhatsApp group of fellow delegates for peer support * Receive comprehensive written information in our delegate pack to help you navigate the process post-event **Tailored to the needs of prospective parents:** The workshop facilitators are parents via donor conception themselves and their personal experiences and insights can provide valuable guidance and support throughout the process. We run these workshops with small groups – a maximum of 8 couples – to ensure there’s plenty of time for you to devote to your own needs. This ensures we can create a comfortable and confidential space to explore your options without judgment or pressure. **This one day online workshop is for you if you are:** * A heterosexual couple thinking about whether donor conception is the right way forward to create or expand your family * Thinking about having fertility treatment in the UK or abroad * Considering an anonymous donor or a donor who is identifiable or known to you personally * Unsure about donor conception and would like to know more about the long term implications * Wondering if you need time out to evaluate where you have got to on your fertility journey and what your options may be for the future Our experience is that in order to get the most from the workshop, couples need to attend together if possible. This workshop is for those who have not yet conceived through donor conception (though you may already have children who are not donor-conceived). The focus is on the social and emotional aspects, and medical questions around donor conception are not covered in this workshop. **Please note that there is a 1 hour session on the Friday night 7.30-8.30pm for introductions and Zoom familiarisation and a 1 hour session on Saturday night 7.30-8.30pm to meet a donor conceived young person and ask them questions.**

NEW workshop for parents of donor conceived children aged 10-20. Do you find the idea of your child connecting with their donor or half-siblings a daunting prospect? Perhaps you’re unsure how to raise the topic with them, or you’d value a safe space to explore what it might mean if – or when – they choose to make contact? Our new Continuing the Conversation workshop offers just that: a supportive space to think about the future, consider the possible implications, and build confidence in navigating these conversations with your child. **At this event, you will:** * Think about the future and what might unfold for you and your child if and when they want to make contact with genetic connections * Build confidence in having conversations about the donor and genetic relatives. **The workshop will enable you to:** * Consider the options available to you and your child – gain an understanding of the options available for accessing information about your donor and your child’s half siblings, whether you had treatment in the UK or overseas * Share common hopes and fears that parents experience when their child talks about the donor * Learn about how and when you might raise the topic with your child * Think through what questions your child might have and what support they might need * Connect with other parents of donor conceived children * Be ready for the wide range of feelings your child might have, how they might differ from your own, and how they might change over time. * Gain knowledge and confidence to support you and your child in decision making. **Who is it for?** This workshop is specially designed for parents of donor conceived children aged 10-20 years who have already told their child about being donor conceived. It is suitable for all family types and is equally appropriate whether your treatment took place in the UK or abroad. **Highlights include:** * Small group discussions with others in a similar family type (e.g. solo mums together) to you to discuss feelings and experiences * Hear donor conceived people talking about feelings towards genetic connections * Session with practical tips on starting and continuing the conversation with your child * Hosted by three extremely experienced facilitators who are parents of donor conceived people * Session on research findings on donor conceived people connecting with genetic relatives * Brief overview of ways to find information for future self-investigation. **What the workshop won’t do:** * Help you tell for the first time: This workshop is designed for parents who have already told their child about their origins and we therefore do not cover telling your child for the first time. If you have not yet begun that initial conversation, our Telling & Talking pages have information you may find helpful to get started.  * Provide detailed information on ways to find genetic relatives: we will tell you the essentials of what is possible but this workshop is not a how-to guide on connecting with genetic relatives. * Tell you *why* you should look for genetic connections: We are not offering this programme to encourage you to connect with the donor – that is always a decision for you and your family. Rather, we want to help you think about the implications for your child and for yourself if and when they seek to make contact. **Made possible with the support of the European Sperm Bank, the Young Adults Study, and our annual members’ Appeal** This workshop has been made possible by funding from the European Sperm Bank and the Young Adults Study and we are enormously grateful for their support. We also allocated the money we raised from our 2025 Appeal towards this project, including the match funding from the London Sperm Bank. Thanks go to all our donors and members for contributing and enabling us to support our community in continuing important family conversations.

This workshop is for parents of donor-conceived children aged 0-7 years. Not sure how to begin a conversation with your child about their donor conception story? Maybe you’re unsure about whether telling is the right thing to do? Or perhaps you’re concerned about who to tell and not tell in your life? Our Telling & Talking workshop is designed specifically with your needs and questions in mind. It provides a safe and confidential space for you to explore the benefits of telling and how to get started. This workshop is equally appropriate whether you had treatment in the UK or abroad, with a known, identifiable or anonymous donor or if your treatment involved surrogacy. You may be wondering how to start talking to your child about their donor-conceived origins, or you may have already begun this process and would like to explore what may come up in the future. As a single or lesbian woman, we recognise that your experiences are different from the time your pregnancy becomes public knowledge, and that attending our workshop even before your baby is born might be helpful for you. All of our single women and lesbian couples’ workshops have a small number of places for pregnant women.