Sperm and oocyte donors' experiences of anonymous donation and subsequent contact with their donor offspring

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V. Jadva1,*, T. Freeman1, W. Kramer2 and S. Golombok1

1Centre for Family Research, Faculty of Politics, Psychology, Sociology and International Studies, Free School Lane, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3RF, UK

2Donor Sibling Registry, PO Box 1571, Nederland, CO 80466, USA *Correspondence address. Fax: +44-1223-330574; E-mail: vj227{at}cam.ac.ukReceived July 15, 2010. Revision received November 19, 2010. Accepted November 26, 2010. BACKGROUND This study examined the motivations and experiences of anonymous donors who decide to make themselves open to contact with their donor offspring.

METHODS Online questionnaires were completed by 63 sperm donors and 11 oocyte donors recruited via the Donor Sibling Registry (http://www.donorsiblingregistry.com/), a US-based international registry that facilitates contact between donor-conceived offspring and their donors.

RESULTS Donors' main reasons for donating were financial payment and wanting to help others. Sperm donors had donated between 1 and 950 times (median = 100) and oocyte donors had donated between 1 and 5 times (median = 2). The majority of sperm donors and more than one-third of oocyte donors expressed concerns about having donated. These concerns were mainly about the well-being of any children conceived using their gametes and not being able to make contact with them. Most sperm and oocyte donors felt that it was important to know how many offspring had been born using their donation, and 51% of sperm donors and 46% of oocyte donors wanted identifying information. All of the donors who had contact with their donor offspring reported positive experiences and the majority continued to have regular contact.

CONCLUSIONS Although the sample may not be representative of all anonymous donors, this study highlights the importance of donors having access to information about their donor offspring and the positive consequences that may arise when contact is made.

© The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com This ArticleHum. Reprod. (2011) 26 (3): 638-645. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deq364 First published online: December 21, 2010

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Mood disorders in oocyte donor candidates: brief report and implications for future research

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Katherine E. Williams1,*, Pascale G. Stemmle2, Lynn M. Westphal3 and Natalie L. Rasgon1

1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, 401 Quarry Road, Room 2358, Stanford, CA 94305-5723, USA

2PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium, Palo Alto, CA, USA

3Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA *Correspondence address. Fax: +650 724-3144; E-mail: elliew{at}stanford.eduReceived October 17, 2010. Revision received December 2, 2010. Accepted December 14, 2010. BACKGROUND IVF, using donor oocytes, has become increasingly common. The donation procedure carries psychiatric risks, including depression, anxiety and rarely, psychosis, and this risk increases when there is a past history of psychiatric illness. We report on the psychiatric status, at intake assessment, of a group of candidate oocyte donors.

METHODS The authors reviewed clinical records of 63 women continuously presenting to a University medical center for psychiatric evaluation as part of the screening process for oocyte donation. A board certified psychiatrist administered a structured clinical interview to candidate donors, and self-report measures were obtained from 28 women.

RESULTS There was a significant discrepancy between psychiatric history of depression and current mood status, as measured by both clinical interview and psychometric self-report data. Nearly one-quarter of candidate donors (22%) reported a history of major depressive disorder; however, all candidate donors denied current mood disturbance on clinical interview, and mean Beck depression inventory and profile of mood states scores were lower than expected compared with psychometric norms (P < 0.0005), epidemiological data and the recurrent nature of depressive disorders.

CONCLUSIONS Candidate donors may minimize psychiatric symptoms. Given the potential for ovarian stimulation protocols to induce or exacerbate mood symptoms, and the moderate heritability of mood disorders, careful evaluation of candidate donor affective disorder history is recommended. This evaluation should focus on sensitivity to mood destabilization during times of hormonal change. Measures that examine whether a candidate donor may have a tendency to present herself in an overly favorable manner, and/or a tendency to minimize symptoms, are recommended.

© The Author 2011. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com This ArticleHum. Reprod. (2011) 26 (4): 847-852. doi: 10.1093/humrep/deq394 First published online: January 17, 2011

Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.

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