Reply to Donor Children Speak Out as Adults

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My problem with articles like these are that they cherry pick the people they talk to. There are 10-15 thousand donor egg cycles done in the US every year and probably many more donor sperm cycles. Just considering donor egg IVF, there are literally hundreds of thousands of donor egg-conceived children currently living in the US. Of course you can find a few who are upset, usually because they have other underlying issues with their parents. [b]The same is true of anecdotal articles about adoption. And, of course, there are plenty of kids who have issues with their genetically-related parents.

I have never seen any statistically significant, evidence-based studies that show that donor conceived children have a higher rate of dissatisfaction with the parents who raised them than do non-donor conceived children.[/b] [/quote]

+1.  [b]As an adoptee, the issue of identity, genetics, are a huge issue but luckily my parents told me when I was 4 years old so being adopted wasn't this huge secret.  Had they waited until I was older that would have been devastating: to my identity, to trusting my parents and others, etc.  But since they told me when I was young it just one part of growing up.  As these two DE articles point out, some people were told when they were adults and that's just not right[/b].  [/quote]

I am so glad for you. The problem is that many people do not like to tell for what ever reason (some legitimate, e.g. in the interview one woman said that her mother was afraid that husband's family would write a daughter out of a will if found out she was not a genetic grandchild).
Many recipients go to great lengths to find an anonymous donor who resembles them precisely to keep it secret. I agree with you that keeping secrets is devastating to one's self-esteem and identity.[/quote]
Devastating to[b] some rare individual's [/b]self-esteem and identity. No reason to put everyone in one bucket. Some people struggle with identity for whatever reason,  but most don't. I can care less about my genetic make up as a lot of other people. [/quote]

Can you provide links to interviews with donor children who “could care less” about their genetic make up?[/quote]
People do not want to be interviewed when they simply live their lives. It's people with issues who want to bring attention and get interviewed. What does knowing your donors give you? They are not your family by any means. I understand simple curiosity,  thus people do 23 and me, but issues with identity - that's venturing into psychiatry, it's not common. [/quote]

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