Publisher Description

How are siblings who were conceived using the same sperm or egg donor making connections in the absence of legal support? What is it like to discover you are part of a 50+ donor sibling group? How are donor conceived adults using new technologies to connect with genetic family and explore their identity? This edited collection considers the donor linking experiences of donor conceived adults and children, recipient parents, and donors in a global context. It includes contributions from legal academics, social workers, sociologists, psychologists, and policy makers who work in the assisted conception field. As a result, it will be of particular interest to scholars of reproductive law, sociology, and digital media and reproductive technologies. It will also engage those following the debate around donor linking and the use of do-it-yourself technologies, including direct-to-consumer genetic testing and social media.

Author Biography

Fiona Kelly is Dean of La Trobe University Law School, Australia. Her research explores the intersection between family law and health law, focusing on the legal regulation of assisted reproduction. Her research has contributed to Australian and Canadian law reform in the areas of assisted reproduction and family diversity. Deborah Dempsey is a sociologist and Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Social Sciences at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. Her broad research interests encompass fertility, technology, and family change. She has published extensively on queer parenthood and families created through donor conception in Australia, and her work has been influential in law reform processes. Adrienne Byrt is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. As a design sociologist, her research draws together feminist theory and design methods to highlight systemic gendered inequity. Her interdisciplinary research spans the sociology of families, mothering and motherhood, women's financial safety, and service design.

Table of Contents

DONOR-CONCEIVED FAMILIES: RELATEDNESS AND REGULATION in THE DIGITAL AGE Fiona Kelly AND Deborah Dempsey; PART I. 'DIY' DONOR LINKING: ISSUES AND IMPLICATIONS: 1. ACCESSING ORIGINS INFORMATION: THE IMPLICATIONS OF DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER GENETIC TESTING FOR DONOR-CONCEIVED PEOPLE AND FORMAL REGULATION IN THE UNITED KINGDOM Damian Adams, Marilyn Crawshaw, Leah Gilman and Lucy Frith; 2. RECIPIENT PARENTS USING DO-IT-YOURSELF METHODS TO MAKE EARLY CONTACT WITH DONOR RELATIVES: IS THERE STILL A PLACE FOR LAW? Fiona Kelly; 3. DONOR-LINKED FAMILIES CONNECTING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA: CREEPING AND CONTACT ON FACEBOOK Adrienne Byrt and Deborah Dempsey; 4. THE CONTACT EXPECTATIONS OF AUSTRALIAN SPERM DONORS WHO CONNECT WITH RECIPIENTS VIA ONLINE PLATFORMS Cal Volks and Fiona Kelly; 5. PARENTS' AND OFFSPRINGS' EXPERIENCE OF INSEMINATION FRAUD: A QUALITATIVE STUDY Sabrina Zeghiche, Isabel Côté, Marie-Christine Williams-Plouffe, and Renée-Pierre Trottier Cyr; PART II. CHILDREN'S AND ADULTS' LIVED EXPERIENCES IN DIVERSE DONOR-LINKED FAMILIES; 6. THE IMPORTANCE OF DONOR SIBLINGS TO TEENS AND YOUNG ADULTS: WHO ARE WE TO ONE ANOTHER? Rosanna Hertz; 7. THE EXPERIENCES OF DONOR-CONCEIVED PEOPLE MAKING CONTACT WITH SAME-DONOR OFFSPRING THROUGH FIOM'S GROUP MEETINGS Astrid Indekeu and A.Janneke. B.M Maas; 8. 'IT'S ALL ON THEIR TERMS': DONORS NAVIGATING RELATIONSHIPS WITH RECIPIENT FAMILIES IN AN AGE OF OPENNESS Leah Gilman and Petra Nordqvist; 9. ON FAMILIAL HAUNTING: DONOR-CONCEIVED PEOPLE'S EXPERIENCES OF LIVING WITH ANONYMITY AND ABSENCE Giselle Newton; 10. ASSISTED REPRODUCTION AND MAKING KIN CONNECTIONS BETWEEN MAORI AND PAKEHA IN AOTEAROA NEW ZEALAND Rhonda M. Shaw; 11. 'SPUNKLES', DONORS, AND FATHERS: MEN, TRANS/MASCULINE, AND NON-BINARY PEOPLE'S ACCOUNTS OF SPERM DONORS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS TO CHILDREN Damien W. Riggs, Sally Hines, Ruth Pearce, Carla A. Pfeffer and Francis Ray White; PART III. INSTITUTIONALISED RESISTANCE TO OPENNESS; 12. KNOWING ORIGINS Naomi Cahn; Opposition to Ending Anonymity; 13. DONOR ANONYMITY AND THE RIGHTS OF DONOR-CONCEIVED PEOPLE IN JAPAN Yukari Semba; 14. DONOR LINKING IN THE DIGITAL AGE: WHERE TO NEXT? Fiona Kelly, Deborah Dempsey and Adrienne Byrt

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Situates donor conception debates in a global context, exploring the interaction between law, technology, and relationships.

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