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 Researchers surveyed 72 parents of 66 children who had been
conceived using donor eggs. The children, from 46 families, ranged
in age from 7 to 19 years old at the time of the survey.
Previous studies have focused on parental intentions to disclose but
not on what actually occurred in the disclosure process, the
researchers note in the journal Human Reproduction.
Twenty of the 46 families had disclosed to their children that an
egg donor was used in their conception. The average age of the
children when they heard the news was five and a half, but ages at
disclosure ranged from 1 to 13 years.
“Families disclosing to children by the age of 8 reported the lowest
levels of conflict regarding the disclosure process and the highest
levels of satisfaction at having disclosed early,” the authors
write.
They also found that parents reported feeling more anxious about
disclosure the longer they waited.
“Waiting for the ‘right’ time to disclose can inadvertently lead to
prolonged/unintended delays and heightened parental anxiety as
children get older and they are faced with disclosing to adolescents
or even older children,” coauthor Nancy Kaufman, a licensed clinical
social worker in private practice in New York City, told Reuters
Health by email.
“We were most surprised by the number of parents who despite wanting
to be open and honest with their children have delayed disclosure,"
said lead author Linda Applegarth of Weill Cornell Medical College
in New York City.
Of the 26 families that had yet to disclose the information, 18
still planned to do so. The average age of the children in this
group was 11 years old. At this age, they are "close to the teen
years where there might be more resentment about not being told
earlier, and parents worry about this," Applegarth said.
Primary reasons for disclosure were the child’s right to know, the
desire to be open and honest and the notion that family secrets are
harmful. For families who still intended to disclose, primary
reasons for delayed disclosure included never finding the right time
and uncertainty about how to disclose.
Half of the families that had already disclosed the information had
sought mental health assistance, compared to only two of the 18
families that still planned to disclose but hadn’t yet accomplished
it.
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The study had limitations. For example, only 12 percent of those who
were invited to participate actually did. The researchers had
originally mailed invitations to 459 families to attend a seminar on
disclosure in egg donation at which the survey was administered, but
only 46 families sent representatives.
In many cases, the addresses may not have been up to date,
Applegarth said.
The investigators clearly state that this is a preliminary study,
said Patricia Hershberger of the College of Nursing at the
University of Illinois at Chicago. Still, Hershberger said, the
seminar might have affected the parents’ attitudes and perceptions
about disclosure.
Nevertheless, the study "provides much needed insight into
understanding how parents in the U.S. approach disclosing the true
conceptual origins to their donor-egg conceived children,"
Hershberger said.
"The findings have implications for both parents and healthcare
practitioners," she added. "For parents, the findings encourage
early disclosure and for practitioners, the findings suggest that
follow-up is important, especially for some parents. Which parents
can best be helped by follow-up is yet to be determined and an area
for future research."
Applegarth said parents who attended the seminar felt it was helpful
to meet other families in the same situation. She hopes reproductive
clinics will focus more on support services for families.
Parents should also seek out clinics that will help them with future
conversations, Applegarth said.
“Families are very attached to where they got their children,” and
there’s comfort in returning to the clinic for help with difficult
conversations, she said.
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/28K7mpH Human Reproduction, online June 10,
2016.
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