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Sunday, October 30, 2011

Freedom of Information

I am writing this to make people aware of the "possible" power of freedom of information. For those unaware, when I originally tried to obtain records to find out information on my donor, on 3 separate occasions I was told:
“The records are lost and we don’t know where they are”
“The records are destroyed”
“There are no records”
So I had 3 different stories. Which story was I supposed to believe?
Now technically these records are my mother’s treatment records and the procedure while carried out in a clinic, occurred in a public hospital. Under Freedom of Information (FOI) here we are entitled to obtain our own medical records. So I asked my mother to apply for her treatment records and delivery/postnatal records.
And guess what? Her treatment records with the donor code miraculously turned up along with the huge delivery/postnatal record tome (I have written about the problems of record keeping previously).
So here’s the gist. Even if a clinic tells you that records were destroyed over the phone or in person, do not accept it as fact until you (or should I say the relevant “legal” person) has applied for them in writing and through the official avenues.
With this example and the many others that I have heard of, how is any member of the triad; patients, “donors”, or most importantly offspring going to believe the word of the clinic and have trust in them. Not likely…………….

Thursday, October 20, 2011

I am the 99%

The occupy movement has made some pretty impressive social statements, including the "I am the 99%" campaign showing how they have been affected by the 1% of people with power and money. Some of my fellow offspring and adopted friends have been using the same statement to highlight how their lives have been adversely affected by those of the 1%. So what the hell, here is my take.
But first, why the Wolverine mutton chops? Well it is Choptober (just like Movember but slightly different). And as a prop to link in with the character Wolverine who was created by scientists in the lab. I too was created in a lab, except by clinicians masquerading as scientists.
The 99% ties in with donor conception because the majority will never know they are donor conceived, and the vast majority of those that do, they were conceived under anonymity clauses, which would mean that about 99% of us will never know our entire family and who our fathers or mother are. It is also the 1%, the powerful and rich, in this instance the fertility industry and legislators that have taken away our basic human rights.
(Side note: The declassified adoptee called it the Identity Movement. Initially I thought that that title missed a lot of the other components such as kinship, health histories etc. However, if we consider it as applying to the identity of our forebears than it encapsulates all of those other things and makes perfect sense. Go the Identity Movement!)

I am a donor conceived person. The fertility industry and legislators have colluded to ensure that I will never know who my genetic father is. They have deprived me of my kinship, my heritage, my identity and a family health history without my consent. It will now also affect my children too.
These are things that everyone else in Australia is entitled to.

I am a second class citizen.


Contracts were made involving a third party that directly affects their welfare without their consent
– this is unlawful.

Our international rights under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child have been trampled on
– this is unethical.

Offspring are suffering to appease the desires of adults
– this is immoral.

Gametes and embryos are bought and sold
– this is human life commodified.

Birth certificates are falsified to make the infertile feel better about their relationship with the child
– this is fraudulent.

Decisions were made on our behalf which genetic connection will be important to us and which will be disposable
– this is hypocritical.

Children are being created in situations that were never possible previously and their familial constructs manipulated
– this is social experimentation.



As the majority of offspring are not even informed of their conception, let alone the fact that most of us were conceived under conditions of anonymity, it is only a minute proportion of us that will ever know who our progenitor, our father or our mother in the pure sense of the word, really are.
We are being denied our humanity.

I am the 99%.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

Donor Conception Around the World


We know that donor conception occurs in nearly every country in the world. However, the vast majority of stories, or online resources and outspoken people seem to be based in the USA, Australia, Canada or the UK. Although there are a few scientific articles from non-english speaking countries that I have also read. Perhaps I just don’t get to see the non-english speaking communities input in this area and that they are there, but just hidden from the English worlds eyes.
The beauty of blogs is that it is possible to see where the traffic and visits come from. So I was quite surprised that in my top 4 countries to visit this blog was Russia and South Korea. Sure I have been to Korea 4 times and have friends over there, and have an affinity for the people and culture (I even speak a little bit of Korean), but I don’t think my friends could account for all of the traffic I saw. These countries are also different from a few other donor conceived people’s blogs traffic feeds.
Anyway, I just wanted to say welcome to all people from around the world, and particularly non-english speaking countries who are interested in donor conception. Please feel free to post messages in another language or even contact me via email in another language, as there are online translators that I can use to try and understand your message and I will try my best to get back to people. It would be great to hear about the thoughts of people from around the world.
Or if you know of online resources for the donor conception community in another language please let me know.