DISCLOSURE ISSUES AND DECISIONS OF COUPLES WHO CONCEIVED VIA DONOR INSEMINATION

Disclosing the use of donor insemination (DI) to family, friends, and offspring poses a quandary for many DI patients. A cross-sectional sur vey was conducted to determine whether couples opted to share informat ion about conception via donor sperm with their children, as well as t he issues and concerns that arose for parents once infertility treatme nt was completed. Twenty-seven married heterosexual infertile husbands and wives who had used DI to conceive completed a follow-up questionn aire asking them about disclosure decisions as well as thoughts about DI as a reproductive option. Results revealed that nearly three-quarte rs of the sample had nor disclosed to their child and did not plan to, although 85% had told at least one other person about conception via DI. With few exceptions, husbands and wives agreed about hole to handl e disclosure. Notably, 32% of the mothers reported not knowing when or how to disclose. However, the majority of couples were not offered ps ychological counseling prior or subsequent to DL It is suggested that mental health professionals should be aware of the divergence of opini on between what they believe about the benefits of disclosure/counseli ng, the beliefs of infertile couples about disclosure and what is actu ally known about the benefits of full disclosure among all involved pa rties.