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Chapter 13 - DNA and the End of Anonymity: Disclosure, Donor-Linkage and Fertility Counseling

from III - Third Party Reproduction: Assessment and Preparation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 November 2022

By
Kate Bourne
Edited by
Sharon N. Covington
Sharon N. Covington
Affiliation:
Shady Grove Fertility, Rockville, MD
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Summary

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testing has had a major impact on people affected by donor conception, including donor-conceived people, their parents, and donors. It has enabled people to discover their conception status and to identify the donor. Donors who were assured of anonymity and their extended families are being contacted by their donor offspring and recipient parents. Consequently, it is now impossible to assure donors they will be anonymous, and parents can no longer consider that nondisclosure of donor treatment to their children is a viable option. Fertility counselors need to prepare their clients for the implications of DTC DNA testing, be fully informed of the repercussions faced by donor-conceived adults, especially those finding out their conception status past childhood, and also to have donor-linking skills as part of their counseling tool kit.

Keywords

donor-conceived peopledonor conceptiondonorsdonor siblingdirect-to-consumer (DTC) DNA testinginformation exchange/contactgamete donationdonor-assisted conceptionfertility counselorcounseling practicedisclosure
Type
Chapter
Information
Fertility Counseling: Clinical Guide , pp. 134 - 143
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2022

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