Relative strangers: Negotiating non-genetic kinship in the context of assisted conception

Smart, Carol (2017). Relative strangers: Negotiating non-genetic kinship in the context of assisted conception. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: Economic and Social Research Council. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-851034

Data description (abstract)

Each year 800 children are born as a result of donor insemination, and 400 as a result of egg donation, in the UK. Following the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, parents who have conceived using donor gametes are now strongly encouraged to tell the child about his/her 'true' genetic origins and not to keep the donor conception a secret. But evidence suggests that many choose not to 'tell' and that donor conception give rise to sensitivities and secrets in families.
Focusing on both heterosexual and lesbian couples who conceive using donor gametes, this study aims to investigate how couples negotiate the processes of disclosure (and non-disclosure) of donor conception to extended family and kin, and how donor conceived children are received into family networks.
The study will be undertaken in three phases using different research methods. The first phase entails mapping the legal and regulatory UK context. The second phase consists of an interview study comprising 25 heterosexual couples, 25 lesbian couples, 15 grandparents of children conceived in a lesbian context and 15 grandparents conceived in a heterosexual context. The third phase comprises a Mass Observation Project Directive at the University of Sussex, and explores wider social and cultural attitudes.

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