{"id":299857,"date":"2023-10-09T10:40:03","date_gmt":"2023-10-09T15:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=299857"},"modified":"2023-10-07T11:35:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-07T16:35:26","slug":"woman-life-collapsed-conceived-donor-sperm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/woman-life-collapsed-conceived-donor-sperm\/","title":{"rendered":"Woman said her ‘life collapsed’ when she learned she was conceived by donor sperm"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

A woman in the United Kingdom (UK) who found out she was conceived using donor sperm said the realization made her life collapse, causing immense emotional upheaval.<\/p>\n

Laura Bridgens told the Independent<\/a> that she asked her mother for an Ancestry DNA test for a Christmas gift one year; several months later, her mother came clean. Bridgens had been conceived through in-vitro fertilization (IVF), using donor sperm. \u201cShe gave me a pair of jeans as a present and said the DNA kit hasn’t turned up,\u201d Bridgens said. \u201cWe went into a hard [COVID-19] lockdown and I didn’t see her until February [2021]. She came to see me and handed me a letter and then proceeded to tell me what the letter said.\u201d<\/p>\n

The information caused Bridgens’ life to collapse, with her likening it to the crashing of a Jenga tower. \u201cEverything looks slightly different now you know this,\u201d she said. \u201cIt shakes things up. It really gets under your skin. It’s not something you get over. It\u2019s very much a lifelong situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though she has met her biological father’s family and is getting to know them, she said it was a difficult and “undignified” search. She also explained that building a bond with them hasn’t been easy.<\/p>\n

“Your existence is like a satellite in so many ways,” she said. “You\u2019re linked to them but then you are still very much a satellite part of it. You second guess most interactions \u2013 you are trying to be your best self, you are still trying to get them to like you.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ: Donor-conceived individuals in UK will soon be able to get info on biological parents<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

She further added that the rights of donor-conceived children need to be better protected. \u201cLearning you are donor conceived creates a lot of questions without answers causing strain on mental health and wellbeing,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is no finality to your experience \u2013 you have the possibility of relatives popping up for the rest of your life.\u201d<\/p>\n

The UK is changing the law<\/a> to allow donor-conceived children to find out information about their biological parents upon request, and by 2030, an estimated 11,427 adults will be able to request information about their parents. Yet Bridgens said the change does not go far enough. Instead of waiting for a request, she argued that donor-conceived people should be told about their biological background from the beginning.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is in the best interests of donor conceived people to tell them, and then it\u2019s their choice what they choose to do with that. It\u2019s about donor conceived people holding the key to their own origins. It is understood to be quite fundamental to know where you\u2019ve come from,” she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t sit well that the fertility industry and the government have decided we are not to know. There are so many people living without that information right now. You can\u2019t exercise a right if you don\u2019t know you\u2019re entitled to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A woman in the United Kingdom (UK) who found out she was conceived using donor sperm said the realization made her life collapse, causing immense emotional upheaval. Laura Bridgens told the Independent that she asked her mother for an Ancestry DNA test for a Christmas gift one year; several months later, her mother came clean. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":187921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[5,4,3473],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nWoman said her 'life collapsed' when she learned she was conceived by donor sperm<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/woman-life-collapsed-conceived-donor-sperm\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Woman said her 'life collapsed' when she learned she was conceived by donor sperm\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A woman in the United Kingdom (UK) who found out she was conceived using donor sperm said the realization made her life collapse, causing immense emotional upheaval. Laura Bridgens told the Independent that she asked her mother for an Ancestry DNA test for a Christmas gift one year; several months later, her mother came clean. 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