This group is for solo parents in the South coast area of the UK (including Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex).
To sign up and to find ...
22 Mar 13:00-16:00
This event is for DCN members only. Please login or join now.
This group is for solo parents in the South coast area of the UK (including Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex).
To sign up and to find out more information please contact Victoria, group coordinator, by emailing dcn.southcoast@gmail.com
[Do not make the booking here]
This event is for DCN members only. Please login or join now.
More upcoming events
Member event
Online
Mar
1
Couples (including separated couples) with children ages 4-7
You are invited to join us for a conversation for members who are parents to children aged 4-7 years old.
DCN Chat is a peer support online get-together. This DCN Chat will be hosted by Joumana, mum through egg donation to two children. All our DCN Chat facilitators are members themselves, volunteers, and hosting the chat as individuals. This is not a professionally led or educational event.
Join us for a supportive space to talk to others in similar situations. If you find that you need further support, please don’t hesitate to contact the DC Network office on enquiries@dcnetwork.org
You are invited to join North London members for an evening of chat and getting to know each other.
Facilitators Albyn and Dominic, are inviting you to join them – both have DC children –
Watch the video for a bit of a taster of what this meeting can offer.
This is a meeting for adults only; please do not attend with children. If you would like to bring a babe in arms, please get in touch first to let us know.
We have a private room secured for this event, so please do come join us – the meetup is social and we also allocate time for discussion on issues relating to donor conception that people wish to share.
You are invited to join the group for parents of DC adults. This group will be facilitated by Jane, one of our longterm members who also works with DCN.
We are inviting parents of those with children who are adults.
We hope this chat can offer an attuned space to the discussions that may be more relevant to the context in which children were conceived 20+ years ago, in a different climate to that which is now prevalent, with regards to openness in particular.
Join us for discussion and support from peers.
This is a DCN chat for couples, heterosexual or same-sex, who are new parents to babies born in 2026.
DCN Chat is a peer support online get-together. The space will be open for you to connect with others and will be facilitated by Ian, who together with his wife, has one child concieved through egg donation who is 3 years old.
Join us for a friendly opportunity to meet others at the same stage as you, for a place to grow friendships for you and your family.
If you find that you need further more professional support, please don’t hesitate to contact the DC Network office on enquiries@dcnetwork.org
We are looking forward to welcoming you to DCN Volunteers’ Day 2026!
Join us for in person in London for a day of networking, catching up on DCN news, role-support and a chance for us to say a big THANK YOU to you all for the contributions that you make to the Network. The day will include:
* Coffee, tea and pastries on arrival
* Welcome, with highlights from 2025 and what’s new for 2026
* Meeting and networking with other volunteers to share ideas, challenges and achievements
* Volunteer training / Break-out sessions to talk through role-specific issues- details TBC
* Plenty of opportunities for questions and discussion
We’d love you to attend so we are offering:
* Travel expenses to attend the event – please book early to help us minimise costs. We have a limited budget so please check beforehand on big sums. To those of you outside the UK, if you would like to attend, please contact us to discuss how we can help.
* Crรจche spaces – For those who can only attend if they bring their child, we are offering a limited number of free spaces for children 6 months to 8 years, so please register early
* Lunch and refreshments
Windsor solo mum group are inviting solo mums (and mums-to-be) from across the county, to join their next events.
8 Mar 2026 11-2pm – South Hill Park Bracknell
14 Jun 2026 – California Park Wokingham
13 Sep 2026 – TBC
29 Nov 2026 – TBC
Times and locations if not listed are tbc but usually South Hill Park Bracknell, California Park Wokingham, Lammas Park Staines or Windsor Great Park, with a hall in the winter (Windsor usually). Anyone free to email me for further info at dcnwindsorway@gmail.com.
The Big Question - What can we learn from the world of adoption?
Donor conception isnโt the same as adoption, but there are overlaps. The donor conception world, and DC Network particularly, has drawn a lot of its approach from the experience and approach of the adoption and post-adoption community.
As with donor conception, there was a time when adoption was kept a secret and professionals told parents to pretend to the child that they had been conceived naturally by the parents raising them. They might even have been told that it could be damaging to the child to know the truth.
That advice changed a long time ago. In part, that was because adoption moved from a private arrangement to sit under the umbrella of social services, so social work principles were invoked early on. There was a recognition that truth was important, that biological relationships were important (even if they werenโt the whole story) and that, with support, adoptive parents could find a way to share the information with their children truthfully and positively.
It took longer for the donor conception community to embrace those messages. Donor conception has always come under the umbrella of clinical fertility treatment and was viewed more through that medical lens. But adoption led the way in showing it could and should be done. There were lots of helpful messages to learn from listening to adoptees, adoptive parents and professionals working in that field that could also be translated into good practice for the donor conception community.
Of course, there are important differences with adoption, including the key fact that parents raising a donor conceived child were always the ones who intended to have that child.
But both share questions around how to manage information about a childโs origins and how to integrate other people who are closely genetically related into their family story and potentially into their lives.
For our fourth โBig Questionโ webinar, we thought this was a great topic to discuss. We will be exploring what we can learn from the adoption world and how it can help inform our approach where there is common ground.
Weโve invited Marilyn Crawshaw and Susie Blamire, both social workers with extensive experience in adoption and donor conception, to join us in considering the question.
Now an Honorary Fellow at the University of York, Marilyn Crawshaw has worked since the 1980s in the field of assisted conception and adoption, variously as a social worker, social work academic, Social and Ethical Inspector with the HFEA (the UK regulator) and policy adviser. She was a founder member of the British Infertility Counselling Association. Her research has been with DC adults, recipient parents, donors, adoptive parents and professionals.
As a local authority social worker, Susie Blamire placed numerous children for adoption. She joined Cafcass in 2008, later becoming Head of Practice of their National Improvement Service. Susie was Cafcassโ Peer Practice Specialist on Modern Families, which encompassed gamete donation. Susie moved to the Disclosure and Barring Service in August 2025 as Associate Director – Strategic Lead for Safeguarding and is also a Director of Surrogacy UK. She is the mother of two donor-conceived children.
The conversation will explore themes such as:
*) Adoption used to be kept secret โ why did that change?
*) How to โtellโ and why itโs important?
*) What can adoptees teach us about the significance, or not, of genetics and biological relationships?
*) What helps build robust families?
You can join in the conversation too. Weโll be open to written comments, reflections and questions from members, either when you register or live during the event.
We’ll be recording the conversation and will put the video in the members’ area on the website shortly after the webinar. Anyone registered will get notified when the recording is available.
Join us for an evening meetup at the Hercules pub.
Members at all stages in all circumstances are very welcome and new members are particularly invited!
This is a chance for adults to discuss any aspects of donor conception and is a great opportunity to meet others in the Network and get some support from our community. Yael will be facilitating this event.
The pub is located just opposite Lambeth North Tube station and a few minutes walk from Waterloo station. We have secured a private room upstairs.
You are invited to join us for a conversation for members who are either intending or have ‘mixed’ families – our term for those with a naturally conceived child (or adopted) and a donor conceived child, to talk about shared issues.
DCN Chat is a peer support online get-together. This DCN Chat will be hosted by Laura, mum to two – the oldest naturally conceived and the youngest conceive through egg donation.
All our DCN Chat facilitators are members themselves, volunteers, and hosting the chat as individuals. This is not a professionally led or educational event.
Join us for a supportive space to talk to others in similar situations. If you find that you need further support, please don’t hesitate to contact the DC Network office on enquiries@dcnetwork.org
Single women - Double or embryo donation - Prospective parent
This is a DCN chat for single women considering or in treatment to become solo mums, considering or using double or embryo donation. This chat offers a space for discussion and peer support.
This chat will be facilitated by Kerry, solo mum through double donation.
All our facilitators are solo mums in the Network. 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
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
Solo mums with children conceived through double or embryo donation
This is a DCN chat for solo mums through double or embryo donation- with children of all ages.
Join this chat if you are pregnant/have children through double or embryo donation.
If you are a thinker/tryer there is a DCN chat available for that stage.
DCN Chat is a peer support online get-together. This chat will be facilitated by Lucia, solo mum to twins through embryo donation. All our Chat facilitators are members themselves, and hosting the chat as individuals. This is not a professionally led or educational event.
Event for prospective parents thinking about using egg, sperm or embryo donation.
If youโre 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.
๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐ถ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ? 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.
๐๐ณ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐น๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ฎ๐น: The full day costs just ยฃ80 per person or ยฃ140 per couple when booked before 19 February (ยฃ95 and ยฃ170 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.
๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐’๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ด๐ฟ๐ฎ๐บ๐บ๐ฒ?
You can find the full programme with timings below.
๐๐ผ๐ผ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ป๐ธ
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.
You are invited to this yearโs DCN Yorkshire Chat & Play Cafe – an informal opportunity to meet up with other DCN members from across Yorkshire. Half of the room is set up for grown-ups to sit and chat, and the other half is for children to play.
*Date*: Saturday 21 March 2026
*Time*: 14:00 – 16:00
*Location*: Main Hall, The Grove Centre, New Street, Horsforth, Leeds, LS18 4BH
Tea, coffee, and squash will be provided. Please bring along cakes / snacks, and any toys / games / colouring books etc that will help to keep the children occupied.
Any help with set up / clear up would be gratefully received! Please let me know if you can help.
The DCN have once again kindly agreed to cover venue costs ๐.
The next DCN West Midlands meeting will be on Sunday 22nd March at 1pm at Waseley Hills Country Park. Meet by the cafe.
Details of the park can be found here:
https://www.worcestershire.gov.uk/council-services/environment/countryside-and-leisure/country-parks-picnic-places-and-nature-reserves/waseley-hills-country-park
Weโve been helping donor conception families for 30 years. Join us to get specialist support and information, and to find a community of families in a similar situation.
