By admin on July 10, 2013

You can read the pdf copy from our Research Page:
http://www.donorsiblingregistry.com/resource-library/dsr-research

2013 The Journal of Family Issues, DOI 10.1177/0192513X13489299 May 2013: A New
Path to Grandparenthood: Parents of Egg and Sperm Donors. Diane Beeson, Patricia
Jennings, Wendy Kramer.

“…third-party reproduction has implications not only for the donor,
recipients, and offspring, but also for the parents of donors, who in increasing
numbers are learning that they are the biological grandparents of one, or
sometimes many, children born outside of their family. In this article we
examine this new path to grandparenthood by reviewing some of the social
processes that have led to the emergence of this phenomenon.”


By admin on July 10, 2013

Slate Article on upcoming “Delivery Man” Movie

http://www.slate.com/blogs/browbeat/2013/07/09/delivery_man_fact_checked_how_much_sperm_would_you_have_to_donate_to_father.html

Wow, this reporter sure got a lot of things wrong!

1. “Most sperm banks and fertility clinics cap the number of donations that even the most generous donors can make.” No they most certainly do not. In addition, sperm banks are not required to, and therefore do not, keep accurate records of how many children are born from any one donor. Therefore, there are no limits in place for the number of children that can be born to any one donor.
2. “In the United States, for example, most fertility clinics and sperm banks adhere to guidelines issued by the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), which recommends restricting conceptions by individual donors to 25 births per population area of 800,000.” Again, because there is no accurate record keeping, “guidelines” are not followed. Most sperm banks have no idea about how many children are born to any one donor, so how can they possibly enforce limits?
3. “…each ejaculation provides three to four vials of semen…”. Again, nope. We have donors listed on the DSR that have reported more than 20-25 vials resulting from one single donation. (One of these donors donated for many years, and currently has more than 75 donor offspring.)
4. “…it would take almost seven years to provide sufficient semen. Donors never participate for that long..” Wrong again. From a research paper on 164 sperm donors, currently In Press: “Just over two thirds (112- 70%) of donors had donated for 1-4 years, with 22 (13.7%) donating for less than a year and 19 (22.5%) donating for between 4-10 years. Seven (4.4%) reported that they had donated for over 10 years.”
5. “…and some have begun keeping registries to prevent donors from participating in multiple banks.” No, there is nothing currently in place to keep donors from donating at more than one place. The sperm banks have talked about such a “registry” for years, but it has not ever happened. Two separate studies showed that between 22-27% of donors donate to multiple clinics. Some donating to more than ten and even up to 17 clinics.
6. The Donor Sibling Registry has many large groups of half siblings, the largest approaching 200. (This is the group reported in the September 2011 NY Times Article).
So this is not merely ”fanciful storytelling”. It may also reveal the realities of an industry run without any oversight or regulation.


By admin on June 11, 2013

Headed to Minnesota today:

“Revamping the Law & Policy of Reproductive Technologies: Children First?”

An opportunity to turn the spotlight on what needs and rights ART offspring
and their families are themselves asserting and to consider how the practice
of ART should change.

9:00am – 5:00pm. June 12/13
Campus Club, Coffman Union, University of Minnesota (UMN)
Info: http://www.lawvalue.umn.edu/newsevents/2012-13Events

Speakers/Topics include:

What Do We Owe ART Children, Adolescents & Adults?
* Wendy Kramer, Director, Donor Sibling Registry
* Susan Kane, donor-conceived adult & parent through donor conception
* Alan R. Fleischman, Professor of Pediatrics, Epidemiology & Population
Health, Albert Einstein Coll. of Medicine

How Should Offspring Welfare Concerns Affect ART Practices?
* Alan H. DeCherney, National Institute of Child Health & Human Development
* I. Glenn Cohen, Harvard Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology &
Bioethics
* Lisa Erikson, MD, Center for Reproductive Medicine & Advanced Reproductive
Technologies of Minneapolis & St. Paul
* Philip Peters, Professor of Law, University of Missouri

Addressing Duties & Harms to ART Offspring: Is Reproductive Liberty a
Constraint? the Non-Identity Problem? Parental Authority?
* Michele Goodwin, Professor of Law, UMN
* Anne Drapkin Lyerly, Center for Bioethics, University of North Carolina
* Judith Daar, Professor Law, Whittier Law School
* John Robertson, Chair, University of Texas Law School

Communication & Information-Sharing with Offspring: Revealing Gamete
& Embryo Donation, Donor Identity, Surrogacy & Other Practices
* Barbara Collura, President/CEO, RESOLVE
* Martha Rueter, Assoc. Professor, Family Social Science, UMN
* Andrea Braverman, Assistant Director, the Educational Core, Thomas
Jefferson University
* June Carbone, Professor of Law, University of Missouri-Kansas City School
of Law