Receiving, or ‘Adopting’, Donated Embryos to Have Children: Parents Narrate and Draw Kinship Boundaries

Genealogy

Nahman, Michal¹  Clarke, Victoria²  Gubello, Alessio³  Tasker, Fiona⁴  Moller, Naomi⁵ 

[1] Author to whom correspondence should be addressed;Department of Health and Social Sciences , University of the West of England, Coldharbour Lane, Stoke Gifford, Bristol BS16 1QY, UK;Department of Philosophy, Sociology, Pedagogy and Applied Psychology, Università degli studi di Padova, Palazzo del Capitanio, Piazza del Capitaniato 3, 35139 Padova (Pd), Italy;Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck University of London, Malet Street, Bloomsbury, London WC1E 7HX, UK;School of Psychology, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, The Open University, Walton Hall, Kents Hill, Milton Keynes MK7 6AA, UK

关键词: embryo donation;    open-contact adoption;    genealogy;    genograms;    family relationships;    kinship;    qualitative research methods;   

DOI  :  10.3390/genealogy2030035

学科分类：分子生物学，细胞生物学和基因

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Existing research suggests that embryo donation (ED) may be seen as similar to adoption by those who donate or receive embryos, or it may not. Our qualitative study explored whether having a child via embryo donation initiated kinship connections between embryo donor and recipient families as interpreted by recipient parents. Interviews were conducted with five parents from four families whose child(ren) had been born via embryo donation. All four families had an open-contact relationship set up with the couples who donated their embryos through an agency in the USA. Narrative thematic analysis of interview data and visual family map drawings were used to explore kinship conceptualizations. We conclude that the dilemma experienced by parents who have a child via embryo donation is to decide how to reconcile their child’s different genetic heritage, when gestation and upbringing both clearly boundary family membership solely within the recipient family. While some families were still struggling with this dilemma, one solution embarked upon by some parents when drawing their family map was to expand family membership, not only on the basis of genetics, but also via an appreciation of shared family and community values too.

【 授权许可】

CC BY