Why Wouldn’t You Tell? Telling donor-conceived children about their conception

Research studies show that while an increasing
number of parents of children conceived as a result
of donor conception procedures appear to be telling
- or planning to tell - their child about their conception
(see Golombok et al., 2004; Brewaeys et al.,
2005 for an overview), a large proportion of parents
choose not to do so. Since the overwhelming majority
of parents normally support truth-telling within
their families, the decision to conceal the nature of
the child’s conception - and deception to maintain
its concealment - requires explanation.