Adult Offspring of Lesbian Parents Reflect on Having Been Donor Conceived: Feelings About Their Sperm Donor and Donor Siblings

The U.S. National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study is the longest prospective study of offspring conceived via donor insemination (DI), beginning in 1986 when DI became possible for lesbian women. The 75 offspring surveyed at Wave 7 were adults in their early thirties (M = 30.93, SD = 0.92; 49.33% female, 48.00% male and 2.66% gender nonbinary; 90.67% White, 9.33% people of color), well past the early stages of identity development in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This is the first qualitative study focusing on feelings about DI among established adult offspring of lesbian parents. Offspring generally felt positive about their donor conception, realizing that it enabled them to be born into a loving family that very much wanted them. They were grateful that the technology existed to allow lesbian parents to have children in the 1980s. Most agreed that their nontraditional conception had influenced their concept of family, and many indicated willingness to be a gamete donor themselves. Offspring also described childhood challenges with feeling different, challenges with the donor or lack of medical information about him. About half had discovered that they had donor siblings. Because the offspring knew of their DI from an early age, they did not perceive this information as a threat to their personal or family identity. As use of DI increases and donor offspring and their parents may seek therapy, clinicians should be trained to address donor anonymity issues, disclosure to children, parental/offspring concerns, and donor sibling concerns and recommend community resources as needed.