Donor Sibling Registry
Encyclopedia
The Donor Sibling Registry is a website and non-profit US organization serving donor offspring, sperm donors, egg donor
s and other donor conceived people
. It was founded in September, 2000 by a mother and son team, Wendy Kramer and Ryan Kramer of Nederland, Colorado
. As of October 2011, the site is home to more than 33,700 members; including donors, parents and donor conceived people
.
group, which was created in September 2000. It was started by Wendy Kramer and her then 10 year old son Ryan Kramer as a means of communicating with other offspring of artificial insemination
. After the first year, the group was home to only 37 members. In October, 2002, Wendy created a press release which was sent to local news agencies. The story was picked up by Denver's NBC
affiliate, KUSA-TV
. Shortly after, a small article about the DSR was written for The Denver Post
. This article led to national and international media coverage, giving the DSR enough exposure to grow its member base into the thousands. In October 2003, the DSR moved from a Yahoo group to its own database website, www.donorsiblingregistry.com. With the help of continued media coverage, the DSR is home to more than 33,700 people (donors, parents and the donor conceived themselves) (as of October 2011). Although the DSR Yahoo! group no longer handles connections (this is done by the website itself), it still exists as a place for discussion.
Offspring searching for their sperm donors: how family type shapes the process. Human Reproduction Advance Access published June 26, 2011. Diane Beeson, Wendy Kramer, Patricia K. Jennings***
Sperm and egg donors' experiences of donating and of being contacted by their donor offspring. Human Reproduction, Vol.26, No.3 pp. 638–645, 2011, (2011). Tabitha Freeman, Vasanti Jadva, Wendy Kramer and Susan Golombok*
Offsprings' experiences of searching for and contacting their donor siblings and donor. Vasanti Jadva, Tabitha Freeman, Wendy Kramer, and Susan Golombok* RBM (Reproductive Bio Medicine) online, (2010) March 2010*
The experiences of adolescents and adults conceived by sperm donation: comparisons by age of disclosure and family type. Vasanti Jadva. Tabitha Freeman, Wendy Kramer, and Susan Golombok* (2009) Human Reproduction doi:10.1093/humrep/dep110.*
Gamete donation: parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor siblings and donor. Tabitha Freeman, Vasanti Jadva, Wendy Kramer and Susan Golombok*. (2009) Human Reproduction, volume 24, issue 3, pages 505-516;doi:10.1093/humrep/den469*
US oocyte donors: a retrospective study of medical and psychosocial issues Wendy Kramer; Jennifer Schneider and Natalie Schultz. (2009) Human Reproduction; doi: 10.1093/humrep/dep309
Links to all articles are on the Research page of the Donor Sibling Registry
See 9/11 NY Times Artile: "One Sperm Donor, 150 Offspring"
, Good Morning America
, The New York Times
and many more.
Egg donor
Egg donation is the process by which a woman provides one or several eggs for purposes of assisted reproduction or biomedical research. For assisted reproduction purposes, egg donation involves the process of in vitro fertilization as the eggs are fertilized in the laboratory. After the eggs...
s and other donor conceived people
Donor conceived people
A donor offspring, or donor conceived person, is conceived via the donation of sperm or ova , or both, either from two separate donors or from a couple...
. It was founded in September, 2000 by a mother and son team, Wendy Kramer and Ryan Kramer of Nederland, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
. As of October 2011, the site is home to more than 33,700 members; including donors, parents and donor conceived people
Donor conceived people
A donor offspring, or donor conceived person, is conceived via the donation of sperm or ova , or both, either from two separate donors or from a couple...
.
Purpose & Goals
The "DSR" was developed as a means of connecting people born through donor insemination. It is based on the idea that when a child is born through donor insemination, they are given a "donor number" corresponding to the person they anonymously received a sperm or egg donation from. Because a donor can donate multiple times, often two or more children are created from the same donor. When multiple user sign up with the same donor, a "match" is created. Most commonly, matches are made between half-siblings of sperm donation, however there are numerous cases of donor-offspring matches as well.History
The DSR began as a Yahoo!Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
group, which was created in September 2000. It was started by Wendy Kramer and her then 10 year old son Ryan Kramer as a means of communicating with other offspring of artificial insemination
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
. After the first year, the group was home to only 37 members. In October, 2002, Wendy created a press release which was sent to local news agencies. The story was picked up by Denver's NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliate, KUSA-TV
KUSA-TV
KUSA, channel 9, is an NBC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. KUSA is owned by the Gannett Company, and is a sister station to MyNetworkTV affiliate KTVD...
. Shortly after, a small article about the DSR was written for The Denver Post
The Denver Post
-Ownership:The Post is the flagship newspaper of MediaNews Group Inc., founded in 1983 by William Dean Singleton and Richard Scudder. MediaNews is today one of the nation's largest newspaper chains, publisher of 61 daily newspapers and more than 120 non-daily publications in 13 states. MediaNews...
. This article led to national and international media coverage, giving the DSR enough exposure to grow its member base into the thousands. In October 2003, the DSR moved from a Yahoo group to its own database website, www.donorsiblingregistry.com. With the help of continued media coverage, the DSR is home to more than 33,700 people (donors, parents and the donor conceived themselves) (as of October 2011). Although the DSR Yahoo! group no longer handles connections (this is done by the website itself), it still exists as a place for discussion.
Research
Summary of Donor Sibling Registry Publications:Offspring searching for their sperm donors: how family type shapes the process. Human Reproduction Advance Access published June 26, 2011. Diane Beeson, Wendy Kramer, Patricia K. Jennings***
Sperm and egg donors' experiences of donating and of being contacted by their donor offspring. Human Reproduction, Vol.26, No.3 pp. 638–645, 2011, (2011). Tabitha Freeman, Vasanti Jadva, Wendy Kramer and Susan Golombok*
Offsprings' experiences of searching for and contacting their donor siblings and donor. Vasanti Jadva, Tabitha Freeman, Wendy Kramer, and Susan Golombok* RBM (Reproductive Bio Medicine) online, (2010) March 2010*
The experiences of adolescents and adults conceived by sperm donation: comparisons by age of disclosure and family type. Vasanti Jadva. Tabitha Freeman, Wendy Kramer, and Susan Golombok* (2009) Human Reproduction doi:10.1093/humrep/dep110.*
Gamete donation: parents' experiences of searching for their child's donor siblings and donor. Tabitha Freeman, Vasanti Jadva, Wendy Kramer and Susan Golombok*. (2009) Human Reproduction, volume 24, issue 3, pages 505-516;doi:10.1093/humrep/den469*
US oocyte donors: a retrospective study of medical and psychosocial issues Wendy Kramer; Jennifer Schneider and Natalie Schultz. (2009) Human Reproduction; doi: 10.1093/humrep/dep309
- Collaboration with University of Cambridge, UK
- Collaboration with University of Canterbury, NZ. Presented at ASRM 2010 and British Fertility Society 2011 meetings.
- Collaboration with California State University, East Bay. Presented at ASRM 2010 and British Fertility Society 2011 meetings.
- Collaboration with University of Liverpool.
- Collaboration with California State University, East Bay. Presented at ASRM 2010 and British Fertility Society 2011 meetings.
- Collaboration with University of Canterbury, NZ. Presented at ASRM 2010 and British Fertility Society 2011 meetings.
Links to all articles are on the Research page of the Donor Sibling Registry
Matches
When a donor conceived person, a parent of a donor conceived person or a sperm or egg donor signs up to the Donor Sibling Registry, they are automatically filed under their respective cryobank by their donor number. If only one person of a donor number is listed, the posting is white. When two or more people sign up under the same donor number, they are filed together as a "match". Matches can occur between half siblings (light yellow), sperm donors and their offspring (dark yellow), or egg donors and their offspring (also dark yellow). As of 10/2011, the total number people matched on the DSR is 8,775 , although many more unrecorded matches exist. The largest match between half siblings totals more than 150 . The largest match between a DSR donor and offspring is 75 half siblings to a single donor, who is also listed.See 9/11 NY Times Artile: "One Sperm Donor, 150 Offspring"
Media Appearances
The DSR has made numerous appearances on various local, national and international television, radio, newspaper and magazine segments including The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show
The Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
and many more.
External links
- www.donorsiblingregistry.com Official website