Lesbian parents and donor insemination and starting a family
As lesbian parents’ we wanted to start a family and knew that donor insemination would be the way to do it. My partner and I spent a great deal of time trying to match her ancestral background as it would be paired with mine as I would be carrying the baby.
Picking a donor
The California CryoBank was who we used as it was in our town and I knew if we had more questions we could make an appointment and speak to someone. It turns out it is pretty self explanatory, you go through and match characteristics by feature, education, race, height and other markers like those. We looked at photos of the donors as well (these are additional costs, but worth it). When we saw our donor, it was immediate that he was the one.
Full profile
We purchased a full file, a photograph of the donor as a child, and an audio interview done by the clinic staff. Clearly, we wanted to get as much information as possible because we wanted to know this man.
Access to information
The more information we had about the donor, the more we could offer our children as they grew up. I was not sure when and how the conversation would go, but I felt confident, we could answer many of the standard questions.
Finding a fertility specialist
My partner and I went off of references and made sure that we were totally comfortable and confident in the doctor. We were but soon found out that he did not do the actual insemination, his nurse did. That was perfectly fine with us as she could not have been a more kind and nurturing woman. I felt absolutely taken care of and safe.
