| Abstract | Across the world, growing numbers of men, trans/masculine and non-binary people are bearing children, some of whom utilise known donor sperm in order to conceive. How this diverse population understand the role of known donors, both in the lead up to conception and in terms of the lives of children conceived of their donations has, to date, received little attention. This chapter focuses on a subsample of nine individuals drawn from a larger international study of 51 men, trans/masculine or non-binary who were gestational parents. The nine participants whose narratives are examined in this chapter all used known donor sperm to conceive, and in their interviews discussed their thoughts about the role of donors in their children’s lives, exploring topics such identifying potential donors, the incorporation (or not) of donors into existing kinship narratives, and the need to create opportunities for children to negotiate their own relationships with donors in the future. The findings highlight the potentially unique social scripting needs of men, trans/masculine and non-binary people who conceive using donor sperm. The chapter concludes by providing suggestions for how this diverse group of people may be assisted in developing scripts for disclosing donor conception to their children, and for negotiating the role of donors in children’s lives in the context of legislatures where such disclosure is required. |
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