Families created via identity-release egg donation: disclosure and an exploration of donor threat in early childhood

RESEARCH QUESTION

What are mothers' disclosure intentions and practices from infancy to early childhood, and is perceived donor threat associated with disclosure in identity-release egg donation families when the children are aged 5 years?

DESIGN

This longitudinal study included 73 heterosexual-couple families with infants born following IVF-egg donation at phase one, and 61 families with 5-year-old children at phase two. At both phases, mothers were interviewed about their disclosure intentions and practices. At phase two, mothers were interviewed about their feelings about future donor-child contact.

RESULTS

Most mothers (75.3%) intended to disclose their use of egg donation to their children at phase one; half had begun to do so when their children were aged 5. Most remaining mothers planned to tell, although a minority were uncertain or planned not to disclose. When the child was aged 5, four mothers had started telling them that they could access their donor's identifying information at age 18, and most (84%) intended to do so in the future. Most couples agreed on a disclosure strategy at phase two. Most mothers perceived at least some threat from future donor-child contact, but this was unrelated to their disclosure practices.

CONCLUSIONS

Disclosure intentions in infancy are borne out in early childhood. Despite perceiving some threat from future donor-child contact, most mothers intended telling their child that they could access the donor's identifying information at age 18. Revisiting these families as the children grow older will be important to understand how the mothers' perceived donor threat may change over time, and how this is related to family processes.

The Ethical Standards of Sunni Muslim Physicians Regarding Fertility Technologies that are Religiously Forbidden

This research project is pioneering in that it is the first to provide empirical data regarding the ethical standards of Sunni Muslim physicians toward religiously prohibited reproductive technologies, a topic which is considered taboo in Muslim society. A total of 689 Sunni Muslim physicians rated their acceptance of 14 fertility treatments. They expressed objections to assisted reproductive technologies entailing gender selection, egg, sperm and embryo donation, and surrogacy. The findings show that the Sunni Muslim medical establishment avoids fertility options that are considered in violation of Islamic law, and Sunni Muslim physicians tend to obey religious law.

What do Sunni Muslims think about religiously forbidden reproductive options?

This study explored the attitudes of Sunni Muslims towards religiously forbidden reproductive options: gamete donation, sex selection, surrogacy, and adoption. A total of 824 married Sunni Muslim people read 12 hypothetical vignettes depicting five types of assisted reproductive technologies: (i) sperm donation; (ii) egg donation, (iii) surrogacy; (iv) sex selection of a male foetus; and (v) and sex selection of a female foetus. They also related to the option of adopting a baby. Each vignette was presented twice: once depicting a relatively younger couple and once again describing a relatively older couple. The respondents were asked to state the level of their objection or acceptance for each of the twelve vignettes. In accord with the Islamic ruling, respondents reported objections to sex selection, egg and sperm donation, and surrogacy. However, they expressed a moderate level of acceptance of adoption of a baby. The greatest objection was directed at sperm donation, followed by objection to egg donation. Our study shows that the Sunni Muslims do not support the provision of fertility care for reproductive options that clearly contravene Islamic religious ruling. The findings may help fertility experts understand the cultural and religious complexities in treating Sunni Muslim couples.