Relative strangers: Negotiating non-genetic kinship in the context of assisted conception

Each year 800 children are born as a result of donor insemination, and 400 as a result of egg donation, in the UK. Following the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, parents who have conceived using donor gametes are now strongly encouraged to tell the child about his/her 'true' genetic origins and not to keep the donor conception a secret. But evidence suggests that many choose not to 'tell' and that donor conception give rise to sensitivities and secrets in families.
Focusing on both heterosexual and lesbian couples who conceive using donor gametes, this study aims to investigate how couples negotiate the processes of disclosure (and non-disclosure) of donor conception to extended family and kin, and how donor conceived children are received into family networks.
The study will be undertaken in three phases using different research methods. The first phase entails mapping the legal and regulatory UK context. The second phase consists of an interview study comprising 25 heterosexual couples, 25 lesbian couples, 15 grandparents of children conceived in a lesbian context and 15 grandparents conceived in a heterosexual context. The third phase comprises a Mass Observation Project Directive at the University of Sussex, and explores wider social and cultural attitudes.

在英国，每年有800名儿童通过供体人工授精（donor insemination）降生，另有400名儿童经由供体卵子捐赠（egg donation）诞生。依据《2008年人类受精与胚胎学法案》（Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008），使用供体配子（donor gametes）受孕的父母如今被大力倡导告知孩子其“真实”的遗传出身，而非将供体受孕（donor conception）的事实作为秘密隐匿。但相关证据表明，诸多父母并未选择告知孩子，且供体受孕会在家庭中催生敏感议题与保密困境。
本研究聚焦于通过供体配子受孕的异性恋与女同性恋伴侣群体，旨在探究伴侣双方如何协商向大家庭及亲属披露（或隐瞒）供体受孕事实的完整过程，以及供体受孕子女如何融入家庭社交网络。
本研究将分三个阶段开展，各阶段采用不同的研究方法。第一阶段为梳理英国当前的法律与监管语境；第二阶段为访谈研究，招募样本包含25对异性恋伴侣、25对女同性恋伴侣、15名女同性恋受孕子女的祖父母，以及15名异性恋受孕子女的祖父母；第三阶段为萨塞克斯大学（University of Sussex）开展的大规模观察项目（Mass Observation Project）指令研究，旨在探索更广泛的社会与文化态度。