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Sunday, October 19, 2014

Petition to end anonymous donations in the U.S.

http://www.change.org/p/american-society-for-reproductive-medicine-end-anonymous-sperm-egg-donation-in-the-u-s

Thursday, September 04, 2014

I am attempting to change my birth certificate

What I am trying to do is have my dad’s name removed and replaced with “unknown”.
I am donor conceived. Sperm donors in the 70’s were anonymous and one of the only things I know about my biological father is the donor code RE.
I do not need a piece of paper to tell me how much my dad meant to me and how much I love him and will always love him (he passed away when I was 10 – 30 years ago this month).
What I do need is an accurate and factual record of my conception and birth. Apart from originally being instigated for taxation purposes, they are supposed to be a factual record of genealogy. Mine does not, nor does the majority of other donor conceived people’s birth certificates. By enshrining deception in the law and allowing this to occur the state government is complicit in enabling recipient parents to actively deceive their child about their origins. Something we know from research that the truth is often found out later in life with devastating consequences.
My dog has a more accurate birth certificate than I do, as do a lot of livestock. How is it that animals can have a more accurate birth record than a person? Now that is dehumanising and wrong.
A birth certificate is not a certificate of ownership, we do not own children. We merely love and nurture them to adulthood.
Now I was lucky and blessed that both dad and mum always told me the truth about my conception. Something that was extremely rare in the seventies as the doctors told them to keep it a secret from me. Modern research shows that my parents were correct and made the right decision for which I am forever grateful. They both taught me to stand up for what I believe in, and this is what I am doing. I strongly believe that I am continuing on my dad’s legacy of seeking and telling the truth by making this stand. His legacy also still lives on in my name, Damian HEDLEY ADAMS. This will not change.
As it currently stands if any of my descendants do genealogy research of my family they will be lead down the wrong path. Yes they will still be linked to the Adams’s and this is still important, but it is not their flesh and blood.
Birth certificates need to be reviewed. They should contain all of the biological parents as well as any legal parents (if different), that way parents will stop deceiving their children and the truth about their kinship will be available to them.
As far as I am aware this is the first time this has been attempted in Australia, and I may not be successful, but it is time to make a stand not just for me but for my descendants and other donor conceived people.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-04/man-from-anonymous-donor-wants-birth-certificate-changed/5720126

Sunday, June 15, 2014

Types of Donation

Through conversations with others there seems to be misunderstanding and misuse of various terms in donor conception. For this post I am going to discuss differing types of donation.
Anonymous – this is where the offspring will never be able to gain access to identifying information on the donor (and vice-versa). Historically this is the most common form however the use of the following forms is increasing.
Identifiable – this is where the offspring will be able to access identifying information on the donor usually after reaching a specific age (ie 18 years).
Known – this is where the identity of the donor is known to the recipient parents at the time of donation. This is sometimes done through friends, acquaintances or even private arrangements.

Some people have been using anonymous to describe the second situation because they feel that during those 18 years the offspring will not be able to access this information. However, this is incorrect, particularly in places like Australia where regulation specifies that current donors must be identifiable. So while they child may not initially not be allowed access to identifying information they will certainly be allowed to do so at some stage, making the use of the term anonymous problematic. Its use in this way also provides confusion to the wider community. In academic literature in reference to the practice in Australia, we typically refer to the anonymous periods and identifiable or willing to be known periods. So for those Aussie donors who are currently donating, STOP using the term anonymous. No anonymous donations have been allowed in Australian fertility clinics since the introduction of National Health and Medical Research Council Guidelines from 2004 that came into effect in 2005.

Friday, March 28, 2014

DNA Testing Company 23andMe has a Blog Post on Donor Conception

23andMe has posted a story/article about donor conceived people using the services of their company to track down genetic relatives:
http://blog.23andme.com/ancestry/lost-girls/?utm_source=cj&utm_medium=cpa&utm_campaign=affiliate&utm_content=23c_Affiliates&utm_term=7354662&cvosrc=affiliate.cj.7354662