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

Abstract

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