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Workshop: Telling & Talking (solo mum and two-mum families)

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 ...

10 May 09:30-17:00

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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 youโ€™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 couplesโ€™ workshops have a small number of places for pregnant women.

The workshop will be delivered on Zoom, supported by a WhatsApp group. You will need a laptop, tablet or PC with audiovisual capabilities and space in your home to work quietly. For some small group work (if there are two of you) you will require an additional device (a smart phone is fine) and space in your home to work individually. Please contact Jo at events@dcnetwork.org if you wish to discuss this further.

Unfortunately, we are unable to have babies or children around during these workshops. You will need to ensure you have alternative child-care arranged for your child(ren) for the duration of the course, as it is a full and intensive programme.

Please note this is a 1 day workshop (Saturday) with an hour’s introduction on the Friday evening 7.30 – 8.30 pm to allow you to meet the facilitators and say hello before the workshop on Saturday and check that your technology is working.

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Workshop for professionals working with donor conception families and prospective parents. Do you work with donor conception families or with patients using donor eggs, sperm or embryos? Our โ€˜Making it Realโ€™ workshop is specially designed for you, to enhance your knowledge and understanding of this route to parenthood and help you offer families the support they need. This is an interactive and experiential workshop and we always get fantastic feedback. “๐˜›๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ข๐˜ด ๐˜ฉ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ต ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ข๐˜ค๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ก๐˜ฐ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ ๐˜ฆ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ต ๐˜ ๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ท๐˜ฆ ๐˜ฃ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ!” “๐˜ ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ถ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฆ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜บ ๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฎ๐˜ฆ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ช๐˜ด ๐˜ต๐˜ฐ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ฑ๐˜ณ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง๐˜ฆ๐˜ด๐˜ด๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ข๐˜ญ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ๐˜ฌ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ๐˜จ ๐˜ช๐˜ฏ ๐˜ข๐˜ฏ๐˜บ ๐˜ง๐˜ช๐˜ฆ๐˜ญ๐˜ฅ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ท๐˜ฆ๐˜ณ๐˜ญ๐˜ข๐˜ฑ๐˜ด ๐˜ธ๐˜ช๐˜ต๐˜ฉ ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ข๐˜ต ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ต๐˜ฉ๐˜ฆ ๐˜ข๐˜ณ๐˜ฆ๐˜ข ๐˜ฐ๐˜ง ๐˜ฅ๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ฐ๐˜ณ ๐˜ค๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ๐˜ค๐˜ฆ๐˜ฑ๐˜ต๐˜ช๐˜ฐ๐˜ฏ.” This workshop will deepen your own understanding of the ways in which creating a child using eggs, sperm or embryos from a third party, including with surrogacy, is different from standard fertility treatments. We look at how to help prospective parents consider the lifetime implications of this route for the child and the family. We also look at how to support families as children grow up and circumstances (and interest levels) change. ๐—˜๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ๐—ป๐˜ ๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ถ๐—น๐˜€ * Friday 9 May 2025 * 9:15am – 4:45pm * Zoom – Online * ยฃ130 or early bird price ยฃ100 if booked before 1 March * [Programme](https://dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2025/04/Making-It-Real-April-2025-Programme-overview.pdf) ๐—™๐—ถ๐˜ƒ๐—ฒ ๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐˜€๐—ผ๐—ป๐˜€ ๐˜๐—ผ ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ: 1. Hear the experiences of parents and donor conceived adults – how do these families fare in the long term? 2. Consider the place of the donor, the donor’s family and any genetic siblings or half-siblings in donor conception families (especially important post-2023). 3. Learn how DNA testing is revolutionising the making of genetic connections and the implications for families. 4. Listen to DC Networkโ€™s long view of life for donor conception families 5. Feel better supported in your role in the fast changing world of donor conception. ๐—ง๐—ต๐—ถ๐˜€ ๐˜„๐—ผ๐—ฟ๐—ธ๐˜€๐—ต๐—ผ๐—ฝ ๐˜„๐—ถ๐—น๐—น ๐—ต๐—ฒ๐—น๐—ฝ ๐˜†๐—ผ๐˜‚ ๐˜‚๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฟ๐˜€๐˜๐—ฎ๐—ป๐—ฑ: * The support needed by donor conception families before, during and after treatment, especially as choices are being made about clinics and countries. * The popularity of genetic testing companies and the impact of the removal of anonymity in the UK – whatโ€™s changed now that the donor register has opened? * The services and resources offered by DC Network – and how these complement and build on information provided and counselling undertaken in clinics and elsewhere * The social and emotional issues of using donated gametes * The implications of the use of DNA and genetic testing websites * The experiences of patients and clients in greater depth. ๐—”๐—น๐—ฟ๐—ฒ๐—ฎ๐—ฑ๐˜† ๐—ฎ๐˜๐˜๐—ฒ๐—ป๐—ฑ๐—ฒ๐—ฑ? Please note that the content of this workshop will be very similar to those run in previous years. If you attended before, you are welcome to attend the day again or you may like to take this opportunity to recommend it to colleagues so they can experience it for themselves. Attendance at this workshop will inform your policy and practice in helping you support your clients and patients in making decisions that are right for their future. If you have any questions, please donโ€™t hesitate to get in touch with us on 020 7278 2608 or at enquiries@dcnetwork.org.
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Workshop: Telling & Talking (mum-and-dad families)

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 youโ€™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.
Book now

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Miscarriage and other challenges during treatment in the donor conception journey

This DCN chat specifically for members who have experienced miscarriage following donor conception or have come up against other significant challenges which have resulted in multiple failed DC attempts. In recognition of the particularly sensitive nature of this topic, the chat/group will be facilitated by Julie, one of our DCN Professional Members, who is a counsellor experienced in working with fertility issues and donor conception. However, like other DCN chats, it is intended to offer an opportunity to share experiences, feelings and challenges with a view to creating a mutually supportive space.
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Start your journey today

Weโ€™ve 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.

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