Curious Connections: The Impact of Donating Egg and Sperm on Donors' Everyday Life and Relationships

Background
In a culture that emphasises the importance of genetic connectedness and which holds that vital and enduring family relationships pass through genetic reproduction, the decision to give away one's eggs or sperm is radical indeed. This is however something that is becoming increasingly common as more people struggle with issues of infertility, and the fertility industry is growing. Questions arise about how donors experience the process of donating and how that process impacts on their everyday lives and relationships. We know very little about this, and the lack of knowledge is becoming problematic given recent developments in law and policy. Whereas, in the past, donors were anonymous and so could choose to keep their donation a secret from close kin, recent legal changes mean that donors are now identifiable. In 2023, the first children born through 'identity release' egg or sperm donors will be able to seek contact. Donors nowadays are therefore likely to deliberate on how to manage such openness and contact within the context of their own relationships with partners, parents and their own children. Being open may not be a straightforward task; evidence to suggest that donors may prefer to keep the information secret, and that sensitivities therefore can grow in family networks. This is a sister project to our previous study Relative Strangers (funded by the ESRC 2010-2013, C Smart PI, P Nordqvist, CI) which explored family life after receiving donor egg and sperm. This showed the impact of donor conception on family relationships and raised unforeseen questions about donors, suggesting that giving away (as opposed to receiving) egg and sperm may impact on family relationships in significant ways. There is no existing research in England or beyond exploring how donors experience donating, or their process of sharing information within their families.
Proposed study and research focus
It is timely and important to explore in greater depth the experience of egg and sperm donors, and how donating impacts on donors' everyday lives and relationships. This study:
1. researches the policy on donation and the rights and obligations of donors
2. attends to how egg and sperm donors negotiate donation within the context of their everyday lives and relationships, and also if and how they share information with close kin
3. explores how close kin react to and experience the existence of donor offspring
4. investigates the similarities and difference between male and female donors' experiences
5. illuminates what the practice of sperm/egg donation as a practice can tell us about contemporary kinship and family cultures
Approach and methods
This study takes the donor as a starting point, but in order to better understand the process and family dynamics that underscore donors' experience, it will look beyond the donor and situate donating within the context of their close relationships. We will utilise a qualitative approach, enabling us to explore donors' experiences and understandings. We will analyse existing policy on donors and conduct 90 qualitative semi-structured interviews with 50 donors (25 with egg donors and 25 with sperm donors), 20 close kin (partners and parents) and 20 infertility counsellors.
Beneficiaries and impact
A range of policy makers, practitioners, user groups, users and the general public stand to benefit from this study. Sought outcomes include increasing the effectiveness of policy and better targeted practical support and information offered to donors and families by donor conception. The impact will be realised through a range of pathways, e.g. a conference, a public debate, a podcast, blogs, films and through the production of findings-based user group leaflets. Academic communities that stand to benefit from this research include those in the field of reproductive technologies and reproduction more broadly, sociologists of family life and intimacy, and medical sociologists.

Impact summary
The following key stakeholders stand to benefit from the research:
1. Policy makers: Relevant Governmental Departments and the HFEA
2. Third sector organisations: NGDT, DCN, Brilliant Beginnings, PROGAR and Pride Angel
3. Practitioners: Fertility clinic staff; infertility counsellors; donor services coordinators; lawyers
4. User groups: Donors, donor conceived people, their families
5. General public
We expect that the nature of impact for these groups will be as follows:
1. Policy makers
We seek to contribute to understandings of policy issues and to increase the effectiveness of policy. We do not suggest that this project would (or should) produce definite policy recommendations. Rather our approach is to introduce knowledge and perspectives, through our empirical findings, in the minds of policy makers and thereby impact on their values and understandings. Specifically, the study will provide timely insight into the regulation of genetic links in law and policy, and how that fits the understanding of donors and their kin. It will also add insight into how the shift to transparency has impacted on donors and their families; this will help policy makers in understanding donors better and the potential issues involved in future contact between donors and donor offspring. We anticipate, for example, that donating impacts on donors' family relationships and that close kin play an important role in shaping future contact.
2. Third sector organisations
Third sector organisations play a key role in supporting those affected by reproductive donation. A good outcome here would be a reframing of debates to include donors' perspectives more fully, and reflecting deeper understandings of donors' experiences. This could lead to better targeted practical support and information material offered to donors and families by donor conception. This could, for example, include material to support donors in informing their families, or understanding the issues that prevent openness. It could also mean supporting donors and donor offspring in understanding how to relate to one another and manage their relationship after initial contact. We hope that the study will contribute to these organisations helping donors and families in making these reproductive practices harmonious and positive.
3. Practitioners
This project will also help clinics and practitioners gain a deeper understanding of donors' experiences, which will help them reflect on current practices. For example, with counsellors having deeper knowledge of the issues raised in donors' lives, they will be better able to anticipate issues arising from donating. This could lead to them offering better support, and assisting donors in thinking through how donating might impact on future relationships. A good outcome would also be that practicing lawyers working with legal cases gain a deeper appreciation of donors' perspectives.
4. User groups
This project also aims to impact on the quality of life for donors, donor conceived offspring, families formed through surrogacy and egg donation, and surrounding families, by assisting individuals to gain a deeper understanding of how their own experience resonates with that of others. This project will help to situate personal experience in the context of a wider community, enabling individuals to learn from others' experiences and raising awareness. Ultimately, we hope that the study will contribute to making donating a positive experience.
5. General public
We also seek raised awareness and increased visibility of donors and donating among the general public, and to widen the social acceptance of infertility and alternative family building practices.
Please see our Pathway to Impact Statement for how we propose to realise the impact on these key beneficiaries, and the history of the policy and other impact achieved in Relative Strangers. For academic impact see the Academic Beneficiaries Statement