Our conferences offer a welcoming, friendly space for donor conceived families to meet and make connections. The presentations stimulate discussions, and the networking and small groups facilitate meaningful conversations about important, shared issues. Our conferences are for DCN members only.
From the very beginning when our charity was founded in 1993, we’ve always run two conferences a year. These events give members the opportunity to spend a day together, meeting in person and sharing their hopes, fears and stories in a confidential and supportive space.
We know how important and valuable these events are. Where possible we offer a creche and children’s activities, so kids can attend too. It’s lovely for children to have a space to meet other children made ‘just like them’. We’ve seen long-term friendships forged at the conferences. Not only that, but the event often acts as a prompt for some important and valuable conversations within the family.
The event includes presentations from speakers focusing on a range of donor conception-related subjects as well as small discussion groups. We generally hold our spring conference in London in April or May, and our autumn conference elsewhere in the UK (in 2022 we were in Bristol and in 2023 in Sheffield). We try to move around the UK to ensure we offer a local option close to home for our members.
We also offer a Virtual Conference online showing recordings of the highlights from the London conference. This allows members who were unable to attend the in-person event to still benefit from the rich and interesting content.
If you haven’t been to a conference before you may be wondering whether to attend.
For parents, meeting other parents can be invaluable. There are particular issues that come up for donor conception families and this is a great opportunity to check in, make connections and talk about shared experiences. Where possible, we offer a creche so you can bring your children and make it a family day.
For donor conceived children 8+ and teenagers, we have various activities apart from just the creche. It is a chance to meet others made ‘just like them’ and talk about ‘donor stuff’ in a fun, well supported and trusted space. You can see more about what we offer children, including the activities our conferences here.
For donor conceived adults, we often have items on the programme that are of interest to donor conceived people, including research presentations and personal stories from DCPs or donors. Where possible, we’ll also arrange a space during the day for them to meet, if they wish.
For professionals working in the field, the presentations on the day are often a really valuable way to expand your understanding of the particular issues that are pertinent to donor conception families. Hearing from real people, particularly those with older or adult children, can be enormously helpful in your work.
‘We were a bit apprehensive about attending… The conference helped us understand more and gave us more to think about!’
‘We have a one year old who was conceived using both egg and sperm donors. The conference made us feel like we are part of something bigger, it’s not just us who have a donor conceived child. Plus, it just normalized the whole issue. I feel less concerned about the fact that I have a donor conceived child – I feel much more relaxed about the whole thing – thank you!’
‘I always wonder if it will be worth going time/travel wise, but never disappointed, and always finish looking forward to the next one.’ (solo mum)
