OP here. It took us 2 weeks to find at least 1 counselor in our area that at least understood what he needs to do. I called 5-6 places and they were all confused why we had to go through such thing. plus when I asked I need clearance letter "as a proof" it made things even more confusing...

I do have to agree with many of you... 1) if for some insurance does not covers this, this is unnecessary expense. 2) it is a CYA for fertility doctor 3) another step that does not much help in this process.

well, this is something we HAVE to do to continue with the process so I have no option but do it, but I still feel strange why they make some things more complicated than they are.

Thanks to all, and good luck in your journey.

I'm a lesbian who used a donor, but my impression from the counseling session was that it is primarily intended to encourage straight couples to be open with their kids about being donor conceived.

I thought it was a stupid and insulting waste of money as well. And for the record, sometimes there is no partner involved when one is using donor material.

Hated it. As if there aren't enough costs. Very paternalistic. I felt it was a surcharge on lesbians but of course others are impacted too. Waste of $.

If you're using donor anything -- sperm or eggs -- they send you to a counselor. It's theoretically to make sure both partners have fully considered and are reconciled to one person not having a genetic connection, and partly (I think) a CYA maneuver.

Some people are really bothered by it -- I actually found it very helpful, I had a couple specific concerns and the counselor had some good ideas.

We felt the same way, but just did it anyway. Just another hurdle to jump through. It was really ridiculous. Basically they just want to make sure that you have thought about it...It was a little strange to have to discuss with a stranger but it checked the box. Oh, and did anyone tell you about the $250 fee?

We are considering to use DS for some reasons and once we shared our thought they immediately told us we HAVE to see counselor or psychologist. I felt strange but did not ask my questions as I am still indecisive. Just curious, when using sperm donor why do they send us to counseling?