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Event for prospective parents thinking about using egg, sperm or embryo donation. If youโ€™re thinking about using donor conception, you probably have lots of questions. ...

29 Mar 11:00-17:00

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Event for prospective parents thinking about using egg, sperm or embryo donation.

If youโ€™re thinking about using donor conception, you probably have lots of questions. This event is the perfect place to start getting answers. Join us and hear from:

* __An embryologist__ from a UK clinic giving a really informative overview of the medical side of things. We always get fantastic feedback about this session, which provides an essential foundation with lots of time for questions.
* __Donor conceived people__ talking about their experiences. How do the children feel? We know this is something lots of prospective parents wonder about. This event provides a rare opportunity to hear from them in person and ask questions. Not to be missed!
* __Parents__ talking through their decision-making and describing family life once children arrive. Nothing beats hearing from people with real life experience.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ผ ๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ? This event is suitable for everyone at the start of their donor conception journey, for same-sex and heterosexual couples and for those planning to become single parents. It’s a friendly, inclusive chance to meet others at a similar stage in a relaxed environment at this in-person event.

๐—”๐—ณ๐—ณ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฑ๐—ฎ๐—ฏ๐—น๐—ฒ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ถ๐—บ๐—ฝ๐—ฎ๐—ฟ๐˜๐—ถ๐—ฎ๐—น: The full day costs just ยฃ75 per person or ยฃ130 per couple when booked before 8 March (ยฃ90 and ยฃ160 after that date) and the 11am start time makes it easy to get to Waterloo and home in a day. This event is a Donor Conception Network event so you can rest assured that all information will be impartial and based on our experience as a charity working with donor conception families for the past 30+ years.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜’๐˜€ ๐—ผ๐—ป ๐˜๐—ต๐—ฒ ๐—ฝ๐—ฟ๐—ผ๐—ด๐—ฟ๐—ฎ๐—บ๐—บ๐—ฒ?
You can find the full programme with timings below.

๐—™๐—ผ๐—ผ๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ธ
The ticket price includes tea, coffee and cake but not lunch; this helps us keep costs down and means you can choose and order whatever you’d like separately. You can find the pub’s menu here: https://www.thehercules.co.uk/food/menus. You are also free to have lunch elsewhere (or bring your own) of course but we hope you’ll stay with us during the break as it will be a great opportunity to chat with other attendees and our DCN team.

๐—™๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ด ๐˜‚๐—ป๐˜€๐˜‚๐—ฟ๐—ฒ? We know this is an emotional topic. Weโ€™re really looking forward to seeing you and the event promises to be a warm and friendly space with lots of support available. If you want to have a chat before booking, please feel free to give us a call on 020 7278 2608 or email events@dcnetwork.org.

๐—ก๐—ฒ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฐ๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐—น? Weโ€™re sorry that you canโ€™t join us but understand that plans change. Tickets are therefore refundable in full if cancelled before 1 March; if you cancel between 1 March and 15 March we will refund you the ticket cost minus an admin fee of ยฃ20 per person; we are unable to give any refund for tickets cancelled with less than two weeks notice. We are a small charity and these charges are simply to ensure we donโ€™t make a loss on the event.

๐—ช๐—ต๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฒ๐˜…๐—ฝ๐—ฒ๐—ฐ๐˜: After booking you will receive a confirmation email from events@dcnetwork.org and nearer the event, weโ€™ll send you full joining instructions.

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Ethnicity in donor conception

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DCN Spring Conference 2025

We’re really excited to announce that tickets are on sale for our annual DCN members’ conference in North London on Sunday 27 April 2025. The event is a wonderful opportunity to connect with others and to hear from knowledgeable and inspiring speakers. __Programme for the day__ [Conference programme](https://dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2025/03/Programme-to-share-ahead-of-the-day.pdf) We have a full day planned, as you’ll see from the programme attached (and linked above). You’ll hear from parents and donor conceived adults sharing their experiences. A sperm donor and a young man from a solo mum family will be speaking about meeting and their developing relationship. We have invited Debbie Kennett to talk about home DNA testing. Debbie is an expert and author on genetic genealogy. She’ll explain about what home DNA testing is, how people are using it and the impact and implications for donor conception families. We’re very pleased to have Dr Vasanti Jadva from University of London presenting a selection of research, aiming to shed light on the complexity of searching for donor connections and the different feelings that people can have towards those they are connected to. Alternatively, instead of the research session, you’ll have the option to join a small group to focus discussion on specific topics (more details about the groups will come very soon). The breaks and final hour will provide some relaxed time for conversations and connections with other members, making the day social as well as informative and supportive. ๐—ช๐—ต๐—ผ ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—น๐—ฑ ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ ๐˜๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐—ฒ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜? * Parents of donor conceived children: If youโ€™ve had children this is a chance to meet other parents, to share experiences and get support. This is a family event so we provide childcare and activities for children up to 12 to make it possible for you all to attend the day. * DC teens and adults: this is an opportunity for children 13-17 and DC adults 18+ to join us for the day and meet with others. * Professionals in the field: Please do join us for an informative and thought-provoking event. ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ต๐—ฎ๐—ฑ ๐—ฐ๐—ต๐—ถ๐—น๐—ฑ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป ๐˜†๐—ฒ๐˜? If you haven’t had children yet, youโ€™re welcome to join us at this conference but do be aware that the content is aimed mostly at parents. Also, we’d like you to be aware that there will be babies and children present. If you do decide to book, we’ll make sure we connect you with any other prospective parents who are there on the day, but you might find our [Getting Started](https://www.dcnetwork.org/events/getting-started/) event on 29 March more suitable and valuable. ๐— ๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ ๐—ถ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ผ You can find more details about the conference in the following documents: * [Information summary](https://www.dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2025/01/General-Information-London-conference-2025.pdf) * [Childcare and activities for children](https://www.dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2025/01/Babies-Children-Teens-London-conference-2025.pdf) * [Programme for the day](https://dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2025/03/Programme-to-share-ahead-of-the-day.pdf) * Childcare and children’s activity places are LIMITED so book soon * Booking deadline is 22 April * Cancellations befor 11 April will be refunded in full but we aren’t able to refund after that date ๐—ก๐—ผ๐˜ ๐—ฎ ๐——๐—–๐—ก ๐—บ๐—ฒ๐—บ๐—ฏ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ? This event is for DCN members and is one of the many benefits of membership. You can join us for just ยฃ7 per month (less if you are a lower income household) and as a member, in addition to being able to book tickets for the conference, you’ll also get access to online chats, WhatsApp groups, exclusive events, and much more. [Join here](https://www.dcnetwork.org/civicrm/contribute/transact/?reset=1&id=7). ๐— ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ๐—ถ๐—ฎ ๐—ฎ๐˜ ๐—ผ๐˜‚๐—ฟ ๐—ฐ๐—ผ๐—ป๐—ณ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฐ๐—ฒ๐˜€: it’s really important to us that our conferences and events provide a safe, confidential space for us to discuss what can be very personal matters. We therefore do not allow journalists or media to attend unless they are joining in a personal capacity as a parent or prospective parent via donor conception or are a donor conceived adult. Everything discussed within our events is confidential and may not be reported or shared outside of the event.
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Member event

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28

Single women - Sperm donation - Prospective parent

This is a DCN chat for single women considering or in treatment to become solo mums. This chat is open for those using sperm donation or considering double donation and offers a space for discussion and peer support. This chat will be facilitated by Anna. Anna is a solo mum in the Network who kindly volunteers to support others. This is not a professionally led or educational event with set objectives, rather this is a space for sharing and meeting others at the same or a similar stage of the journey. Join us for a supportive space to talk to others in similar situations. If you find that you need further more professional support, please don’t hesitate to contact the DC Network office on enquiries@dcnetwork.org
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