Sperm Donor Conceived Children - What do they think?

The Untold Story of Donor-Conceived Children - Christianity Today

• "My father sold me away for $75. How is that supposed to make me feel about myself?"

• Seventy percent agree, “I find myself wondering what my sperm donor’s family is like,” and 69 percent agree, “I sometimes wonder if my sperm donor’s parents would want to know me.”
• Nearly half of donor offspring (48 percent)  agree, “When I see friends with their biological fathers and mothers, it makes me feel sad.”
• “I find myself wondering what my sperm donor’s family is like.” Most (78 percent) born to single mothers agree, compared to two-thirds of those born to lesbian couples or married heterosexual
  parents.

• "We offspring are recognizing the right that was stripped from us at birth -- the right to know who both our parents are. "

• "My sperm donor is half of who I am."
• "Nearly half are disturbed that money was involved in their conception."
• "About two-thirds affirm the right of donor offspring to know the truth about their origins."

• "It’s always been really interesting to me to know where my personality came from. And, yeah, I see it a lot more in these guys," says Rebecca. "And it's great to have half-siblings, to see that, 'Oh, that's where my personality came from, that.' But it'd be even more interesting to see it straight from the source."

• "Learning about one's donor likely contributes to many youths' comfort with their origins"
• "Interest in one's donor is likely fueled by a normal, common curiosity and may help individuals gain a better sense of themselves"
• "Almost all parents, even heterosexual couples, had told their children about their donor origins, with most doing so by age 6"

• "All of the 23 sperm and egg donors in that study who had met their biological kids told researchers it was a good experience. In fact, most of them saw their offspring regularly."

• "The consumer revolution in sperm banking has a dark side. It commodifies pregnancy. Sperm is now treated as a product, and customers (not "patients") demand the same quality assurances that they would for a toaster."
• "Three moms who explicitly chose "happy" donors report that their kids have sunny personalities"
• "In general, parents are much more enthused to locate genetic family members than the kids are. That may change as the repository children become older and more curious about where they come from."

• "I don't think being intelligent is what makes a person. What makes a person is being raised in a loving family with loving parents who don't pressure them. If I was born with an IQ of 100 and not 180, I could do just as much in my life. The thing I like best about myself is not that I'm smart but that I care about people and try to make other people's lives better. I don't think you can breed for good people."
• "I am not a masculine, macho guy. Maybe it would have been good to have more experience relating to men."

• "The sooner they're told, in a fairly matter-of-fact way, the better," Eric Blyth, a professor of social work at the University of Huddersfield in the United Kingdom and a visiting professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University, told LiveScience. Blyth compares the persistent secrecy over donor insemination to the way adoptions were run decades ago. 
   

• "Only 25% of American households are made up of a husband, wife, and a child"

• The Anonymous Us Project is a safety zone for real and honest opinions about reproductive technologies and family fragmentation

• "Children from lesbian families rated higher in social, academic and total competence. They also showed lower rates in social, rule-breaking, aggressive problem behavior."

• "The consumer revolution in sperm banking has a dark side. It commodifies pregnancy. Sperm is now treated as a product, and customers (not "patients") demand the same quality assurances that they would for a toaster."
   

• "If those who sell their sperm anonymously don’t
  want to think about the consequences of their actions, perhaps it’s something we as a society shouldn’t be doing in the first place."