Most donor-conceived Kiwis are told where they come from

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-08-08 10:04

New Zealand

PHOTO: Aditya Romansa/Unsplash

A first-ever study has found most NZ parents who conceived their child through a sperm, egg, or embryo donor have disclosed that information to their child at an early age. Of the 374 anonymous survey responses from parents, 86% said they disclosed donor conception to their child, while 12% had not yet told but planned to. Parents cited the child’s right to know and a desire to be open and honest as some of the main reasons. However, some parents also expressed concern around the impact of social stigma, and felt anxious about the impact disclosure would have on the relationship with their child. The research team say their survey had a response rate of 28%, which could suggest biased results, given that non-disclosing parents may be less likely to participate in the study.

Attachments

Note: Not all attachments are visible to the general public. Research URLs will go live after the embargo ends.

Research Elsevier, Web page

Journal/
conference: Fertility and Sterility

Research:Paper

Organisation/s: University of Auckland, AUT University, University of Otago, University of Canterbury, Fertility Associates, NZ; Te Whatu Ora; American University, USA

Funder: Funding was received from a Health Research Council Health Delivery Research Activation Grant (22/708) and from an A+ Trust grant (9090). Conflict of interest: KA has nothing to disclose. SG is chair of the Asia Pacific Initiative on Reproduction (ASPIRE) Psychology and Counselling Special Interest Group and a board member of patient advocacy group, Fertility New Zealand. SB has nothing to disclose. RH is a co-founder of peer support group, Donor Conceived Aotearoa. JS is chair of the New Zealand Ethics Committee for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ECART). AH-D is a member of ECART. SW is a member of the New Zealand Advisory Committee on Assisted Reproductive Technology (ACART). CF is Dean of Research and Policy at the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RANZCOG), a member of data safety monitoring committees for two ongoing RCTs (the TILT and BEAD35 studies), and received personal payment to cover an airfare to give a plenary lecture at International Federation of Fertility Society conference 2025.

Media Contact/s

Contact details are only visible to registered journalists.