The professionals that families come across on their donor conception journey – and then as parents afterwards – are enormously influential and important people. We have resources and membership to help support you in your pivotal role.
Whether you are an embryologist, nurse, counsellor, doctor, andrologist, receptionist in a fertility clinic, GP, paediatrician or any kind of mental health professional you are enormously welcome to the Donor Conception Network community.
For heterosexual couples, using donated gametes to aid conception is much more than just a next logical step to making a baby, once it is clear that would-be parents’ own gametes are not viable. It is helping to build a different sort of family, one where there will be at least one non-genetically connected parent. The child they raise will be genetically connected to the donor and their relatives, which is different to just using IVF with the parents’ own sperm and egg.
For same-sex couples and single people there are similar issues of difference and genetic connectedness that it’s important to be aware of and consider in the process of helping people become parents.
At DC Network, we are keen to involve all professionals so that they can support parents in acknowledging the differences and preparing to take on the responsibilities associated with parenting by donor conception.
Join DCN as a professional member and we’ll keep you up to date on all the latest news and developments in the world of donor conception. Plus you’ll get our weekly Friday Bulletin and access to our member conferences.
Professional membership is a great way to ensure you’re well equipped to support your client families if their journey involves donor conception. Plus we keep the price low at just £4 per month to ensure we are accessible for all.
Do you work with donor conception families or with patients using donor eggs, sperm or embryos? Our ‘Making it Real’ 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 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.
We run this workshop once each year and it usually sells out, so do sign up early if you’re interested.
** Tickets for our 2025 ‘Making it Real’ workshop are now on sale **
The clinics in our supporter scheme have shown their commitment to donor conception families. We recognise the important work they do helping people get pregnant and they recognise the important work we do in supporting the social and emotional well-being of those families for the long term.
If your patients or clients are considering using a surrogate or looking for legal advice or help, our lawyer supporters specialise and have a wealth of experience in donor conception and surrogacy-related issues.
Most of our services are aimed at parents and prospective parents through donor conception. When you are working with your clients, do make sure they are aware of the services we offer. They may wish to call our helpline or to sign up for membership, which enables them to access a fantastic range of services and support specifically for people in their situation.
Our charity has been around for 30 years and we have a wealth of information and experiences, knowledge to offer.
We love connecting with others working in our field and helping people on their fertility journey so do get in touch to find out more about what we do.
We have a research committee which reviews all the research requests to the Network to ensure that it is conducted appropriately and fits in with our members. Click below for research enquiries or information.
