Donor Conception
Explore donor egg, donor sperm, and donor embryo as potential pathways with insights and resources from professionals, and real-life perspectives from families of donor conceived children and donor conceived people.
Donor Conception Support Group
Our Donor Conception Peer Group is for people who are looking for an open discussion of the issues, decisions, and emotions surrounding this family building option.
The first session of the month is geared towards those who are considering donor egg, donor sperm, or donor embryo as a way to build their family and those who have begun the donor conception process, but are not yet pregnant/parenting.
The second session of the month is focused on those who are cycling, pregnant, or parenting.
Typical Monthly Schedule
Session 1: 1st Tuesday or 1st Thursday of the month at 7p EST
Session 2: 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7p EST
Seeing a family like ours in a picture book
By Alison Buonome This post contains affiliate links. If you buy a copy of Party in a Petri Dish through the AllPaths Bookshop, a portion of your purchase supports our work at no extra cost to you. My son and I recently read the book Party in a Petri Dish by...
Erin and Stephen’s Journey: For some people, it’s not a straight line from A to B
This episode featuring Erin, a longtime AllPaths group leader, and her husband Stephen offers a raw and unfiltered look at their decade-long struggle with infertility and it’s emotional toll. From the early days of excitement and expectation to the stark...
Rebecca’s Journey: “This is right for me and right for my family.”
In this episode of the AllPaths podcast, we’re joined by Rebecca Daddio, LCSW PMH-C and AllPaths peer group leader, to hear about her personal and professional journey through the complexities of family building. Rebecca shares her experiences with...
Ginanne’s Journey: Children should never feel like there was something shameful or weird about how they were born.
In this episode, London-based American author and journalist Ginanne Brownell recounts her challenging journey of infertility, miscarriage, donor conception, and gestational surrogacy. Now parent to twins born in 2018, Ginanne’s personal experience...
Annie’s Journey: “Something I’ve always felt really grateful for is how wanted I was from the very start.”
In this episode, we sit down with Annie, an ENT resident with a unique perspective on medicine, identity, and family. Born to two moms through donor insemination, Annie shares how she always knew she was deeply wanted. We explore her journey as a...
Danielle’s Journey: “I’m not interested in miracle stories anymore.”
Danielle shares her story of trying to conceive over 40, navigating fertility treatment, donor egg IVF, and the anxiety of becoming pregnant after years of failed cycles. Over the course of the conversation we chat about navigating boundaries while family...
Jen’s Journey: “Families are built on love.”
A born and raised New Yorker, social worker Jen Rachman shares her family’s story from an ovarian cancer diagnosis that sadly left her infertile in her 20s, to the decision that surrogacy was the best route for her and her husband to grow their family. With...
Staci’s Journey: Zigzag to the finish line
CEO and Founder of Family Source Consultants (FSC), Staci Swiderski shares her personal journey as an intended parent, welcoming a son via gestational surrogacy in 2005 and her experience as a known egg donor. Her own fertility challenges led her to found...
The Power of Narrative: Family Storytelling, Diverse Families, and Donor Conception
Featured in the AllPaths Magazine, 2024 Volume 2 By Sonja Klug In mainstream books, films, and ads there is a very dominant narrative of how families happen: Usually, a man and a woman fall in love, have children and live happily after. From a young age,...
Mixed Feelings: Lessons from the Multiracial Donor-Conceived Community
Featured in the AllPaths Magazine, 2024 Volume 1 By Max Tang Growing up biracial in an all-Chinese American family, I often felt like an oddity. I wasn’t the only mixed kid in my world – I didn't know anyone else who was mixed like my twin brother and I. My...
Why I Walk
Guest Post by a member of the 2023 Footsteps for Family Building Walk Committee The hardest battles are given to the strongest soldiers. A story I’ve never fully told publicly even to some of our closest family members, started with our wish for a baby. We...
Biological Family Building for LGBTQ+ Persons
Join Dr. Mark Leondires, medical director of IllumeFertility and founder of GayParentsToBe for this overview of biological family building options for LGBTQ+ people. This discussion covers clinical options for lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer people that are...