The clinics and donor banks listed below are members of our longstanding Clinic Supporter Scheme, one way in which they’re able to support the charity and the work we do for donor conception families. Parents and prospective parents need support at different stages over time, from the challenges of decision-making before and during treatment, to telling and talking with young children, to supporting and guiding older children around their options and choices regarding donor siblings or integrating the donor into their identity.
We make no particular recommendation about them other than to tell you they are active supporters of our charity and recognise the huge importance and value of our Network in providing help and information to donor conception families.
The clinics do the essential work of helping people to get pregnant. We partner with them in the equally essential work of looking after the emotional well-being of those parents and children over the longer term.
There are a number of reasons for us setting up the scheme. Using a donor (sperm, egg or embryo) is not the same as simply using IVF; there are important additional things to consider when a child won’t share a parent’s genetic make-up. We offer the social and emotional support patients need when making difficult, sometimes complicated, decisions.
More and more people are contacting us for support via our phone and email helplines. Talking things through with people who understand can help the whole family long-term. Parents can get on-going help and guidance. Children can grow up knowing there is a place where they can meet others conceived ‘just like them’, ask questions or explore what donor conception means to them. This is enormously important in building confidence and supporting families through any challenges they may face.
It feels right that as an organisation we build closer relationships with clinics and this supporter scheme is one way to do that.
Increasingly, clinics and banks outside the UK (who often see lots of UK patients) are recognising the value we offer and have chosen to be part of our scheme. We want prospective parents to hear about the information, resources and community available through DC Network from the very beginning of their journey to parenthood and that support is there from the outset, regardless of where they are sourcing gametes or having treatment. By connecting and engaging with overseas clinics where many UK patients go, we can share how best to work together to support them – not just at the time of treatment but over the long term, wherever the family lives.
If you are a clinic offering donor conception, one of the ways you can show your patients how much you are thinking about their long-term welfare as a family is by joining our scheme.
We really appreciate the support and commitment of the clinics and banks listed alphabetically below (first those in the UK and then those outside the UK).
