Long-term outcomes of children conceived through egg donation and their parents: a review of the literature

Abstract

This review examines the literature on the long-term outcomes for children and parents in families created through egg donation, focusing on child psychological adjustment, parental psychological health, and parent-child relationship quality. Where possible, outcomes were examined according to family disclosure status (i.e., whether or not the parents intended to tell/had told the child about their method of conception). The small body of empirical literature indicates that children and parents function well throughout childhood and into early adolescence, although there appear to be subtle differences in mother-child relationship quality. None of the differences found in relationship quality indicate problems in the mother-child relationship and instead reflect differences within the normal range.

Keywords: Assisted reproductive technologies; child adjustment; egg donation; gamete donation; parent-child relationship.