Passing along another third-party announcement from my inbox:
I am the lesbian mother of 4-year-old twins who were conceived using anonymous donor sperm. I am also a graduate student at Smith College School for Social Work writing my Master’s Thesis on lesbian parents who have used anonymous donor sperm to create families, and their experiences of seeking out and connecting with their children’s donor half siblings, generally through the Donor Sibling Registry (DSR).
My hope in conducting this research is two fold. I hope to provide some education and information about lesbian families and particularly these “new blended families” that are being created by donor half siblings. I hope that this information will further the effort to broaden the definition of family so that it is more open and inclusive. And second, I hope this research will provide a compilation of differing experiences in parent’s pursuits of donor half siblings to aid lesbian parents when they may need or want to embark on this journey.
If you choose to participate I will set up an interview at your convenience that will take no more than one hour. I live in the Boston area and will conduct interviews in person with anyone nearby, but I am also able to conduct phone interviews if need be. My questions will focus on your experiences of seeking and finding your children’s donor half siblings, as well as your thoughts about the meaning of “family”. All information will be kept confidential by disguising all identifying information, using pseudonyms, etc. Please know that you have the right to refuse to answer any question and may withdraw from the study at anytime during the interview. If you do choose to withdraw all materials pertaining directly to you will be destroyed immediately.
Please let me know by January 25 if you would be willing to talk with me for an hour between now and the end of February.
I am happy to answer any additional questions you might have. Feel free to contact me via email.
Thank you so much for your time and consideration. I hope to speak with you soon,
Ash Turnbull
aturnbul@email.smith.edu