Resources & Events

Resource

Over 30,000 children a year are born through donor insemination in the United States, and their numbers are rapidly growing. As a result, there are also a growing number of resources available to guide families through the process of donor insemination. Look below to learn more about some of the unique resources we offer at TSBC. We've also compiled a list of books and Web sites that may be helpful to you, whether you're at the pre-conception stage or you're talking to your child about how she or he was conceived.

Family Contact List

If you conceive a child using TSBC donor sperm, and you're interested in contacting other families who have used the same donor, you have the option of registering with our Family Contact List. To join the list we require that a request be made in writing by letter, email, or completing the Family Contact List Form on our website. Simply send a written request (attention: Executive Director) that includes your child's full name, date of birth, and donor number. Donor-conceived individuals 18 years old and or older may also add themselves to the list. We'll add your name to our family registry, and when there is a match--that is, when another family who used the same donor asks to be put on the list-- we'll put you in contact with each other. Please note that parents of donor-conceived adults must initiate this process themselves, as TSBC does not solicit families to register with the Family Contact List. Read more

Sibling Inventory

We make every effort to provide inventory to families who wish to have more than one child using the same donor. Sibling inventory is set aside from general inventory and is only available to those women and their partners who have already had a child using the donor. Please let us know your plans as soon as you are pregnant, so we can anticipate sibling inventory needs, and advise you on purchasing vials and storing them with us. The only way to guarantee having vials for future use is to purchase them as soon as possible. Please check out the Current Sibling Catalog.

Second Parent Adoption Letter

Many lesbian couples who have had children with the assistance of TSBC decide to pursue legal adoption status for the other (non-gestational) mother. As part of this process, you may need to receive a letter from TSBC verifying that sperm was purchased for donor insemination. Courts require this documentation in order to establish that no father will come forward claiming custody. To receive one of these letters, please send us a written request that includes your full name, the full name of your child, the child's date of birth, and donor number. Also, please mention if the letter is to be sent to your attorney as well as yourself. For more information about second parent adoption and other legal strategies for same-sex parents, you may want to contact the National Center for Lesbian Rights at 800-528-NCLR.

Parenting Resources

Web and print resources that can help you with issues such as deciding whether and/or how to discuss donor conception with your child and more specific issues such as those unique to LGBTQI parenting.

Heterosexual Couples and DI

Approximately 15% of all couples in their reproductive years experience infertility, and there is a general consensus that men and women are affected at similar rates, with roughly 40% of infertility attributable to a male factor, 40% to a female factor, and 20% to unexplained causes.

Even though infertility strikes men and women equally, and men and women may feel similar emotions upon being diagnosed, their experience of infertility may be quite different. Society encourages women to express feelings, which helps them seek the support of others and utilize available resources. Men, on the other hand, generally are taught to suppress emotion, increasing isolation and diminishing the possibility of receiving help. Read More

Ovulation and Fertility

When trying to get pregnant, timing is of the essence, because women are only fertile for a brief period every cycle, with peak fertility occurring right before ovulation. A woman’s egg lives for only six to twenty-four hours after ovulation. Using frozen sperm makes timing insemination even more crucial; while fresh sperm can live for three to five days within a woman’s body, thawed frozen sperm will live for twenty-four hours at most.

In order to determine when ovulation is most likely to take place, you’ll need to become familiar with your own menstrual cycle—every woman’s cycle has individual variations. If possible, try to chart your cycles for at least three months before beginning insemination in order to get a sense of the normal range of your fertile days. By charting and observing the following basic tips, you should be able to identify the forty-eight-hour period during which insemination will be most likely to result in conception.  Read More