How to register

If you decide to go ahead with DNA testing in the hope of making contact with a donor, offspring or donor-conceived half sibling, you’re likely to go through many different emotions: anxiety, curiosity and excitement may all play a part.

Your feelings may change and perhaps become more intense after you have received the outcome of your DNA testing and it is important to bear in mind the implications of not finding, as well as finding, a link.

We strongly encourage you to take advantage of our confidential counselling service (2 sessions are free and costed at £25 thereafter) which gives you the chance to talk things through in a way, and at a time, to suit you. This service is available at any time during your process.

You may wish to discuss what it is you wish to achieve from the process and whether it is a good time for you to start the process. It is helpful to discuss the implications for yourself and those close to you.

Should a match not be found on the Donor Conceived Register at this time you may feel disappointed and despondent. Here at the Donor Conceived Register we offer counselling support for everyone accessing the service and you can get in touch to discuss this with us further. If a link has not been found at this time, it may be in the future as more people register with our service. If you would like us to keep in touch with you and let you know of any potential links; please keep us up to date with your contact details and consent and we will be in touch should this occur.

If your results determine that there is potential link with another individual on the register both sides of the link will be informed of this and it is important to consider the implications of finding a match.

If you are a donor it is beneficial to consider the following:

• The number of Donor Conceived offspring you may have a link with
• How your own genetic children, if you have any, may feel about you being a donor
• The possibility of half sibling links
• The potential of meeting links
• Do your partner/children know you donated and how would it impact upon them?
• The possibility that the donor conceived individual may not want similar level of contact.

If you are donor conceived it is beneficial to consider the following:

• The potential of meeting links
• The possibility and implication of a number of half siblings
• The possibility that if you have siblings, they may not have same donor and whether these siblings are aware they are donor conceived
• The potential that half siblings or donors may not want similar level of contact

If your results determine that there is potential link with another individual on the register both sides of the match will be informed of this. A report will be provided from DNA Analysis at King’s College London that describes the nature and the likelihood of the match.

Both parties will be independently invited to state how they would like any contact to proceed:

• Exchange of information/communication through an intermediary worker
• Exchange of non-identifying biographical information
• Exchange of email addresses
• Exchange of identifying information e.g. name, address, telephone number, email address
• Face-to-face meeting

A member of the DCR team will then engage with both sides to help manage the contact, based on the preferences expressed by both parties.

The key principle followed will be that neither party will be expected to go beyond the level of contact they are comfortable with. Typically there will be sequential progression through the contact process, over a period of many months, with either party free at any time to withdraw from the process or further contact.