More intriguing results from the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study (NLLFS) (about which more here and here). This time, Drs. Nanette Gartrell of the University of California, San Francisco and Henny Bos of the University of Amsterdam have found that “the development of psychological well-being” in children of lesbian mothers between ages 10 and 17 “is the same for those who were conceived through known and unknown donors.”
The results, which appeared in the journal Human Reproduction in December, also showed that almost one quarter of the 17-year-olds in the study with as-yet-unknown donors wished they knew their donors, and about two thirds of those who have the option to meet them when they turn 18 plan to do so. In the next phase of the study, when the children turn 25, the researchers will ask those with identity-release donors whether she/he has contacted the donor, why or why not, and if so, what happened.
In a separate article in the same issue of Human Reproduction, a team led by Dr. Vasanti Jadva of the University of Cambridge found that about half of the sperm and egg donors studied wanted identifying information about their donor offspring. Not only that, but “All of the donors who had contact with their donor offspring reported positive experiences and the majority continued to have regular contact.”
My take on all this? There’s no one “right” or “wrong” answer to the question of whether to use a known or unknown donor. It’s all a matter of personal preference and circumstance, and it’s only one part of the whole complicated network of things that make our children who they are.
(Thanks to Reuters for the heads up.)
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