Page 19 - FSANZ WINTER -2022

‘what if’ factors in embryo donation
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For recipients, this term allowed them to assume full parental responsibility and authority, but with the freedom to involve donors if desired, while for donorconceived children relationships could be acknowledged and actioned without assuming any rights or obligations.
Questions among participants about embryo donation in relation to being a gift or mutual exchange revealed some complex responses. For example, viewing donation as a gift evoked dynamics of obligations and counter obligations or indebtedness, but these factors were less of an issue when donation was considered a mutual exchange with parties working towards a common goal.
Dr Goedeke outlined some clinical implications for fertility counsellors including exploring “what if” factors, managing relationship mediation, providing support in establishing and maintaining healthy boundaries in embryo donation, assisting parents to find ways to disclose genetic origins of their children, and providing donor-conceived individuals with a supportive environment for the possibility of meeting with donors or siblings.
She highlighted the importance of considering lifecourse implications of forming families in this way and recognition that donors and recipients have a unique and ongoing moral relationship with each other that does not end with the donation of embryos.
Dr Goedeke said a responsibility of counsellors and clinics was to ask themselves key questions such as:
• who is the client?; and
• what is their ongoing role in terms of supporting donors, recipients, donor-conceived offspring and their families in navigating this new form of familybuilding in a safe way that promotes the health and wellbeing of all parties.
ANZICA Chair, Rebecca Kerner, said Dr Goedeke’s presentation in the May webinar was excellent in addressing complexities of embryo donation.
“We were honoured to have such an experienced and acclaimed researcher present to us and it allowed a stimulating panel discussion between Australian and New Zealand practitioners about pre-donation and post-donation issues.”
ANZICA members are now looking forward to the Sydney workshop on 30 July. Topics to be addressed include:
• Inventing the donor, discovering donor siblings and learning about the self by Rosanna Hertz;
• Stress and infertility: New insights (Angela Lawson);
• Childlessness after infertility (Sarah Roberts and Judy Graham);
Rebecca Kerner
• The parenting journey for single women (Marlene Mina);
• Culturally speaking: Infertility and third party reproduction (Rabia Shaikh, Cheryl Phua and Sona Karia)
• Termination after genetic diagnosis (Sue Hawkins)
• Thinking psychologically about ethically challenging cases
(Miranda Montrone); and • History of ANZICA
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