Time to think: the missing component when choosing donor conception (Olivia’s View)
‘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.’
Drawing on a radio programme about one woman’s experience of hand transplant surgery and the surgeon’s policy to give patients a year to think it through, DCN co-founder Olivia argues for a similar need for would-be parents to take time to reflect on the long term implications of having a child through donor conception. Rather than finding themselves sucked into the ‘unstoppable momentum’ of treatments, she feels that - as with surgery - the key factor here is to think and reflect: to ‘step back, take time off for contemplation of the future for themselves and any child conceived with the help of a donor, and make better choices as a result’.