Upcoming TV Show focuses on Donor Conceived

From Wendy Kramer- of The Donor Sibling Registry- we also have a tv show coming out this fall that focuses on a 17 year old donor conceived girl who meets many of her half siblings, while also searching for her donor. I think you will find it interesting as we show many of the mixed feelings of both the donor kids, and the parents.

http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-tca-press-tour-mtv-generation-cryo-donor-reality-show-,0,4558835.story

 

Mixed feelings but glad to promote Wendy Kramer’s outstanding work in the field.

Finding Our Families: A First-of-Its-Kind Book for Donor Conceived People and Their Families

 

 

The first comprehensive book for children born through donor conception and their families An estimated more than one million people have been born in the U.S. through donor sperm or eggs, including Wendy Kramer’s son. Realizing the unique concerns of being or parenting a donor-conceived child, Kramer launched what would become the world’s largest database for connecting donor-conceived people, the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR). Finding Our Families provides additional support for this growing community. With compassion and insight, the authors draw on extensive research to address situations families face throughout a donor-conceived child’s development, including the search for a biological parent or half-sibling, and how to forge a healthy self-image.
PREORDER NOW: Penguin.com   •   Amazon Barnes & Noble   •   Books-a-Million   •   IndieBound
If you are thinking about having a baby through donor conception, this book is for you. If you are a donor conceived person, this book is for you. If you are a parent raising a child who came to you through the help of an egg or sperm donor, this book is for you. If you are a medical or mental health professional, helping people build their families through donor conception, this book is for you… With wise, compassionate, practical and innovative advice, Kramer and Cahn guide readers through the ever unfolding world of donor conception. They take on the challenges of identifying language to describe new definitions of family and address the complexities—and rewards—that come when people search for donors and other genetic connections. Finding Our Families is that rare book that you will read and return to again and again over time, appreciating and understanding it in different ways as you explore and discover new forms of kinship.  -Ellen Glazer LICSW, Co-Author, "Having Your Baby Through Egg Donation"  Click here to read Ellen's full book review! *** Finding Our Families isn’t just a good and important book – it’s a necessary one. -Adam Pertman, President of the Adoption Instititute, Author, "Adoption Nation" *** This gem of a  book is based on the unique experience of the founder of the Donor Sibling Registry, Wendy Kramer, who has heard from members of thousands of families who owe their existence to donated sperm and/or eggs.  Kramer and Cahn have written a heartfelt, practical, easy-to-read, and step-by-step book that is indispensable for all members of such families. With the aid of numerous first-person accounts, the book describes what, when and how to tell your child about his or her genetic origin, how to accept and process the usual desire of offspring to learn about their roots, how to proceed with the search for biological relatives, how to reach out to the donors, and what happens afterwards.  Finding our Families includes empathetic and useful sections about meeting the donors, connecting with half-siblings and their families, recognizing the potential outcomes, and handing rejection of efforts to connect. A chapter written specifically for offspring is very useful.  This book is must reading for all members of the family.- Jennifer P. Schneider, M.D., Ph.D. *** Finding Our Families is a must read for anyone in any part of a process related to donor insemination.  Whether you've just opened the door to an idea about using donor sperm or your donor children are grown, this is a book for you. Comprehensive, thoughtful and full hearted, this book addresses the myriad of issues that can arise in donor families.    It is an inclusive, sensitive map to guide anyone touched by the joys and complexities of donor insemination.  The authors pull from the amazing anecdotal work Kramer has done, as well as research she's spearheaded in this arena.  Three cheers for this groundbreaking work and may it reach a professional audience, as well as the families they write about. -Susan Frankel, MFT *** This ground-breaking book affirms what donor-conceived people have been telling us (in media interviews, at seminars and support groups, on blogs and internet forums, etc): they want, need and deserve to be told the truth about their genetic origins and the right to decide for themselves whether to seek contact with their donor and/or half-siblings. And thanks to Wendy Kramer's hard work, dedication and innovation in creating the Donor Sibling Registry, many donor-conceived people are now able to "find the other 50% of the pieces of the puzzle that make up who I am".  ­ - Diane Allen, Co-founder and Executive Director of the Infertility Network, Canada *** Finding Our Families gently stretches us to consider the experiences of all those involved in helping make our families. As a psychotherapist, a lesbian, and the mother of a donor-conceived child, I finished this book as a more compassionate and forgiving person.  There is nothing more powerful than the truth. –Liz Margolies, Founder and Executive Director of the National LGBT Cancer Network  *** Clearly written and well-organized, this is an indispensable guide for all those who are part of families formed with donated eggs or sperm. -Rene Almeling, Assistant professor of sociology at Yale University and the author of "Sex Cells: The Medical Market for Eggs and Sperm". *** The definition of ‘family’ is rapidly changing and Wendy and Naomi's book provides a clear and helpful guide through this uncharted territory. Their advice on communicating with children, by far the most challenging and important aspect of this journey, is compassionate and wise. Thank goodness for this wonderful and much-needed book! –Jane Mattes, LCSW, Founder and Director, Single Mothers by Choice. *** Wise, honest, informed and reassuring--and written by two deeply respected experts--Finding Our Families is the definitive guide for any parent or child who is part of a family formed with the help of donor conception. The insights are so profound and the guidance so clear-eyed that I would go further and say that the book is a definitive guide for anybody who has a family. An essential parenting book. - Liza Mundy, Fellow, New America Foundation, Author, "Everything Conceivable How the Science of Assisted Reproduction is Changing our World" *** An invaluable resource for anyone searching for their donor or donor siblings through the Donor Sibling Registry. -Susan Golombok, Ph.D., University of Cambridge *** You've written a wonderful and much needed book for donor conceived kids and their families! I am impressed with the depth of your insights and I really like the way you have cited the latest research in the field. I also like the depth of detail you have gone into with regard to conducting searches for donors and half siblings through your registry.This kind of information, drawing on the experiences of your members, goes a long way towards demystifying that process and will allay the fears of those who want to make contact with their donors and/or half siblings. -KimKluger-Bell, LMFT, Author  of  "The Pea That Was Me" children's book series for donor kids, www.booksfordonorkids.com *** The one thing we as human beings deserve more than anything else is our own, personal truth. Wendy Kramer and Naomi Cahn have long fought for this right, even before it was fashionable to do so. These well-respected advocates for the donor-conceived and their families bring outspoken tenacity and audacious courage to the pages of this significant book.- Corey Whelan, patient advocate and author, The American Fertility Association

Wendy Kramer
www.donorsiblingregistry.com
303-258-0902

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other wings." - Hodding Carter

 

Infertility and Adoption Support Groups: The Top 5 Benefits, by Joni Mantell

http://ezinearticles.com/?Infertility-and-Adoption-Support-Groups:-The-Top-5-Benefits&id=6342659

State law change to help children find donor parent | theage.com.au

I don't think the term donor parent is correct. There's a donor and a parent. I agree I'm not the genetic mother of my children but I am their mother. It's complicated .

http://m.theage.com.au/victoria/state-law-change-to-help-children-find-donor-parent-20130820-2s9ga.html


Sara Axel

Fwd: Survey of 1700 Sperm Donor Recipients

Pdf not attached but see link below. And I love the quote at the end of Wendy's email by Hodding Carter.

Sara Axel

516-967-7430

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Wendy Kramer <wendy@donorsiblingregistry.com>
Date: August 18, 2013, 7:47:27 AM EDT
To: Sara <saxel95@aol.com>
Subject: Survey of 1700 Sperm Donor Recipients

2013 Reproductive BioMedicine Online: A SURVEY OF 1700 Women who formed
their families using donor spermatozoa

The pdf of this paper is attached, and can be accessed on the DSR's Research page:

http://www.donorsiblingregistry.com/resource-library/dsr-research

"This paper reports the results of an online survey of 1700 recipients of
donor spermatozoa conducted by the Donor Sibling Registry, aiming to understand
the perspectives of respondents who had used donor spermatozoa. The survey
examined: choice of sperm bank and donor; reporting of births and genetic disorders;
disclosure; contact with donor and half-siblings; regulation of sperm donor
activity and genetic testing; and access to medical information. The respondents
formed three groups: single women; women in a same-sex relationship; and
women in a heterosexual relationship. Some differences between the three cohorts
were observed: pre-insemination counseling; acceptance of donors without medical
records or with chronic or late-onset diseases; awareness of choice of bank
and type of donor; and views on the right of offspring to know their genetic
origins. However, important areas of common ground were identified: the
wish by those who had used an anonymous donor that they had used an open-identity
donor; support for, and willingness to pay for, comprehensive genetic testing of
donors; and desire for access to their donor's family health information.
The implications of these results for policies concerning the use and
management of donor spermatozoa will be discussed."

Wendy Kramer
www.donorsiblingregistry.com
303-258-0902

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other wings." - Hodding Carter

<survey1700womenspermatozoa.pdf>

Fwd: New paper on Donor Grandparents!

Sara Axel

516-967-7430

Sent from my iPhone

Begin forwarded message:

From: Wendy Kramer <wendy@donorsiblingregistry.com>
Date: July 11, 2013, 10:53:06 AM EDT
To: Wendy Kramer <wendy@donorsiblingregistry.com>
Subject: New paper on Donor Grandparents!

The Journal of Family Issues, May 2013: A New Path to Grandparenthood: Parents of Egg and Sperm Donors. Diane Beeson, Patricia Jennings, Wendy Kramer.

"...third-party reproduction has implications not only for the donor, recipients, and offspring, but also for the parents of donors, who in increasing numbers are learning that they are the biological grandparents of one, or sometimes many, children born outside of their family.  In this article we examine this new path to grandparenthood by reviewing some of the social processes that have led to the emergence of this phenomenon."

Abstract

Assisted reproductive technologies have engendered new familial arrangements, some of which challenge traditional assumptions about the relationship between biology and social roles. In this article, we report on the first survey ever conducted of parents of former egg and sperm donors. Twenty-two men and women participated in a survey conducted by the Donor Sibling Registry, a worldwide registry facilitating mutual- consent contact among donor offspring, their gamete donors, and other family members. We report on their feelings and thoughts on learning that their child donated gametes and on learning that they have a grandchild (or grandchildren) via gamete donation. We also examine what type of relationship, if any, participants have formed with their donor-conceived grandchildren, as well as their advice to other parents of donors. We conclude with questions and suggestions for future research into this newly emerging terrain of family relations.

Wendy Kramer
www.donorsiblingregistry.com
303-258-0902

"There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children. One is roots; the other wings." - Hodding Carter