Anonymous donation - for those who don't have ID release or known donors
Chat
Heterosexual couple
Member event
Online
Parent
Prospective parent
Same sex female couple
Same sex male couple
Single man
Single woman
This DCN Chat is aimed at discussing anonymous donation and how that is experienced for us as donation recipients. The chat will be facilitated by Valentina, DCN member, and mum through egg donation to two children through anonymous donation.
Please be aware that the Anonymous donation chatโs purpose is to understand the meaning that is given to the anonymous donation and how it is managed by those who are already parents. Prospective parents can join the call, however the main goal is to offer an opportunity to talk through the meaning that recipient parents give to the anonymous donation, rather than explore whether this is the best route for prospective parents, which would be best done in the thinker/tryer spaces.
This DCN Chat is to offer a space to talk about experiences. This is not an educational event and rather, is offered as a peer-support opportunity.
Heterosexual couples - Sperm donation - prospective and new parents
Chat
Heterosexual couple
Member event
Online
Parent
Prospective parent
Come and join us for a private space to discuss sperm donation in heterosexual couples with others going down a similar path.
DCN Chat is a peer support online get-together. This DCN Chat will be hosted by Danny, dad to two children, concieved through sperm 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 dont hesitate to contact the DC Network office on enquiries@dcnetwork.org
This DCN chat is for men only – in heterosexual couples, consideirng, undergoing treatment or dads through sperm donation.
This Chat will be facilitated by Chris, dad to two children, conceived with sperm donation.
DCN Chats offer a space for members to come together to talk about shared issues. This is a peer support online get-together.
All our DCN Chat facilitators are members themselves, and hosting the chat as individuals. This is not a professionally led or educational event.
Join us for a friendly non-judgemental space to talk to others in similar situations. If you find that you need further support, please dont hesitate to contact the DC Network office on enquiries@dcnetwork.org
This DCN Chat is aimed at discussing the pros and cons of taking steps to identify genetic siblings. We will offer a space to deliberate about the merits and pitfalls of this and what possible implications doing so/or not do so might have on you and your child. The chat will be facilitated by Adrienne, who is a solo mum with a child born in 2020. This forum is for discussing the topic, rather than a ‘how to’.
** Becuase of the nature of the conversation we ask that participants are particularly careful not to share identifying details of their donor.
Come along to join the next meetup for members in West London
on Sunday 22nd February at The Eagle, 215 askew road, W12 9AZ.
Members in all family circumstances are warmly welcome as well thinkers & triers!
Local group coordinator, Chloe, solo mom of 2 year old Lily, will be there to welcome you and the families will have a chance to meet.
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.
Couples (including separated couples) with children ages 0-3
Chat
Heterosexual couple
Member event
Online
Parent
Same sex female couple
Same sex male couple
You are invited to join us for a conversation for members who are parents to small children aged 0-3 years old.
DCN Chat is a peer support online get-together. This DCN Chat will be hosted by Rachel, who together with her husband, has two children through donor conception. 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
Join the Dorset members’ meetup at the Walled Garden in Moreton on April 18th for a group get-together.
Find out about the venue here:
HomePage main
Members in all family circumstances, at any stage, are invited. DCN’s local meetup coordinator, Lisa, will be there to welcome you!
The North West solo mums’ group is up and running again and looking forward to welcoming members from across the region.
Solo mums or mums-to-be are invited to all activities
Jenny and Kate will be there to welcome you to join their in person meetups for support and community.
The meet ups planned for 2026:
19th April- Walton Hall gardens Warrington or Wigan Haigh hall
12th July – Calderstones park/Warrington
11th October – Knutsford/Chester/Delemere
Exact location will be decided on approximately 4 weeks before the event, when they have an idea of who is coming and ensuring sufficient numbners to run meetups.
Tickets are on sale for our annual DCN members’ conference in North London on Sunday 19 April 2026.
The event is a wonderful opportunity to connect with others and to hear from knowledgeable and inspiring speakers.
We have a full day planned and the focus this year is exploring scenarios around Telling and Talking, what we can learn from the current research and how to manage some of the more tricky issues that can come up for donor conception families.
* Parent panel – Anita, Colum and Jane will be sharing their experiences of Telling and Talking
* Donor conceived person – Rebecca Coxon will be talking about her complex story of family secrets and the impact of late telling
* Professional discussion – Astrid Indekeu and Nina Barnsley witll be doing a session exploring some of the more difficult scenarios parents can find themselves in with regard to explaining things to their children (eg SEN kids, separation or divorce)
* Research – Dr Leah Gilman will be presenting on the learning from research around known donation
As well as the main presentations, you’ll also have the option to join a small group to focus discussion on specific topics, which also provides an opportunity to meet and connect with others.
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.
[View the programme here](https://dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2026/03/Programme-DCN-London-Conference-April-2026.pdf)
๐ช๐ต๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฒ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐?
* Parents of donor conceived children: If youโve 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 13 to make it possible for you all to attend the day.
* DC teens – we’re offering a teen activity in the morning for children aged 13-16
* DC adults 17+: this is an opportunity to join us for the day and meet with others.
* Professionals in the field: this is an informative and thought-provoking day that will help inform your practice and provides a chance to connect with the DCN team.
๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ถ๐น๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐?
If you haven’t had children yet, youโre welcome to join us at this conference but do be aware that the content is aimed mostly at parents. You might prefer to book onto our event aimed at prospective parents [Getting Started 21 November 2026](https://bookwhen.com/dcn-events/e/ev-sa984-20261121110000)
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 do be aware that there will be babies and children present.
๐ ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ป๐ณ๐ผ
You can find more details about the conference in the following documents:
* [Information summary](https://dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2026/01/General-Information-2026.pdf)
* [Childcare and activities for children](https://dcnetwork.org/app/uploads/2026/01/Babies-and-children-2026.pdf)
* Childcare and children’s activity places are LIMITED so book soon
* Booking deadline for adult places is 14 April
* Booking deadline for childcare is 8 April
* Cancellations before 31 March will be refunded in full but we aren’t able to refund after that date
๐ก๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐๐๐ก ๐บ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฟ?
This event is for DCN members and is one of the many benefits of membership. You can join us for just ยฃ8 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 ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ฎ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐ป๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐: 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.