The DSR Celebrates Egg Facility Support!

By admin on September 11, 2013

Although the Donor Sibling Registry (a 501(c)3 charity) has grown steadily over the past 13 years, it has been in the past few years that we have experienced exponential growth. There are many reasons for this, but one that makes me especially happy is that egg donation facilities are sending more and more people our way. And they are doing so in the most helpful and exciting way: by including the DSR in donor-recipient contracts.  I am thrilled to report that as of this writing, at least 24 attorneys, clinics and agencies are providing their donors and IP’s with DSR brochures and/or are offering (or allowing) them the option of signing on with the DSR right from the start of a pregnancy.

What does this mean?  So much!  For one thing, it means that there will be increasing numbers of people who will know that when they sign on with the DSR, they will have an immediate match – instant open lines of contact with each other.  For them, the uncertainty of not knowing if and when they will match with donors, recipients, or siblings will be gone—replaced by the assurance that they have an on going connection to each other. This can be incredibly important when it comes to sharing and updating medical information, and even for sharing photos and emails- and with no middleman needed! These connections can be anonymous if the participants prefer—or open.

This—in and of itself—is great news from my vantage point. However, I believe that this growing trend’s significance extends far beyond the convenience of brochures and contracts. What it means is that egg donor clinics and agencies are acknowledging the bonds that exist between and among people that are genetically connected. Rather than denying these bonds, as so many did in the past, they are joining us in helping identify new dimensions of kinship.

Quite often, I am asked to recommend facilities, and I always recommend ones that have contacted us to order brochures, and who have indicated that they are properly educating their parents and donors and facilitating the use of the DSR.

We are delighted to be working with families from the following clinics, agencies and law offices and we are hopeful that more and more will sign in on coming weeks and months. 

Genesis Egg Donor & Surrogacy Group, Inc., Genesis Fertility & Repro. Medicine, An Eggceptional Match, LLC, Conceptions Center for Ovum Donation, Egg Donor Solutions, Oregon Reproductive Medicine, The Fertility Center, MI, Servy Massey Fertility Institute, Idaho Center for Reproductive Medicine, Exceptional Donors, Inc., Creating New Generations, Fertility Connections, Repro. Med. & Infertility Assn. (MN), Fertility Family Services, Northeast Assisted Fertility Group, Inc., San Diego Fertility Center, University of CO Health Sciences Center, Fertility Centers of IL, Advanced Fertility Center, Wisconsin Fertility Institute, The Center for Egg Options, LLC, Northeast Assisted Fertility Group, Inc., Creative Family Connections, Law Offices of Amy Demma, P.C., Susan Katzman, Attorney, Law Office of Catherine Tucker, and Infertility2adoption.  (Please let me know if I have mistakenly left you off the list!)

So a big thanks to each of these forward thinking practitioners and their progressive programs! We believe that they are providing a wonderful service to their clients and that this service will have a ripple effect through the donor conception community. The clients who learn about the DSR from them will tell their friends who in turn will spread the word.  Our hope is that as the word spreads and people learn that joining the DSR is a no risk, high reward option, more and more programs will include us in their office waiting rooms and their websites and most important, in their contracts.

Three testimonials:

Each year I see more intended parents who want to make sure their child one day ”has the option” to meet their donor if they wish. As an agency I am grateful that there is a program like The Donor Sibling Registry that can be an advocate for the child, donor, and intended parents who desire this type of relationship. Katy Encalade, Program Director, Egg Donor Solutions

More and more of our recipient and donor pairs hope to sign up for the Donor Sibling Registry. We often have comments about how helpful you are as facilitator. – Andi, Oregon Reproductive Medicine

Just wanted to send a note to say how much our clinic appreciates this option for our patients. Currently our office only offers anonymous embryo donation. However, some of our patients would like a more open arrangement. Your site allows patients who trust our office and want to stay with us, to have the best of both worlds. Now they have a place where they can go to control the amount of contact they have with their donor or recipient. It’s the perfect solution for them and we are grateful you offer this option!Christine, The Fertility Center, MI