Donor Conception Network
Parent led: child focused. Supporting donor conception families for 30 years
We're a supportive charity network of over 2,200, mainly UK-based, families with children conceived with donated sperm, eggs or embryos, those thinking about or undergoing donor conception procedures and donor conceived people.
We would love to hear your views!
We'd love to hear your views on a range of subjects to help best decide how we support our community. There's also some questions about your interest in helping us in other ways as we develop the Network to make it fit for the future.
Closes midnight 10th December!
We provide support through
Connection with others
They say it takes a village to raise children. Well, sometimes it takes a village to help you even contemplate that journey.
What's happening at DC Network
Some upcoming events
Considering egg, sperm, double or embryo donation?
Looking for information or support? Feeling alone?
If you are contemplating donor conception or are having treatment, whether in the UK or abroad (whatever kind of donor you are using) we are here to offer support and information. We can help you think through your questions and concerns; just click on the section below that fits to get details aimed more specifically at you and your situation. If you are at the early stages you might want to attend a webinar to get an overview of donor conception and what to consider. Our professionally run, facilitated Destination Parenthood workshops provide more in-depth and focussed spaces to explore your hopes and fears and share with others at a similar stage. Feedback from these workshops is extremely positive and we know they can be transformative.
Already parents? Looking for help with telling your child?
If you are pregnant or already have children of any age conceived through donor conception then we have lots of resources as well as support and information for you and your family.
If you would like a dedicated opportunity to explore how to start the conversation with your children about how they were conceived you might like to attend one of our Telling and Talking workshops.
If you are looking for books to support 'telling' have a look in our bookshop and choose the section that fits your situation best. We have a range of books for children called 'Our Story' and a series for parents called 'Telling and Talking' which cover developmental stages (0-7yrs, 8-12yrs and 12yrs+).
If you have older children (12yrs+) or adult children who you haven't told yet we can help explore that and offer support Telling Older Children and Adults
We also have information for
Articles and News
‘... storing embryos for future use means couples run the risk of eventually facing the difficult and often unanticipated question of what should happen to embryos they created together, in the event their relationship breaks down. This is an increasingly challenging area and one which raises extremely sensitive and emotive questions.’
‘Shira was conceived through post-humous reproduction, where a child is created from the frozen sperm or eggs of a person who has died. The practice is banned in some places, tightly restricted in others. But Israel - a country that leads the world in assisted reproduction - is testing the boundaries on allowing this new method of family creation.’
‘Whatever your motivations or way into donation or your experiences, you want to know that what you’ve done has been worthwhile, and that was really something that was shared across the 3 countries ... women were frustrated when that didn’t happen or when that wasn’t consistent or when you had to argue for the information.’
'I was no stranger to shock and grief...[but] this was something altogether different. The quality of it was different...It was trauma at the level of identity.'
‘Hand transplant surgery and donor conception don’t seem to have much in common but the policy of time for thought is one that assisted conception medical professionals could and should take a lesson from.’
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