Discovering the 'Facts of Life' Following Anonymous Donor Insemination

This article reports on a study of the experiences of eight adults aged 44–65 years living in North America and the UK who had learned of their conception as a result of anonymous donor insemination and had also subsequently discovered their shared genetic heritage as offspring of the same donor. The study tracks participants’ endeavours to trace their ‘roots’ from the time of initial revelation of their donor-conceived status to the identification of their donor and location of donor half-siblings. It provides the first in-depth study of a process that is likely to be undertaken by an increasing number of donor-conceived individuals in the future