Brief Introduction
This is the third of a five-part series examining the complex decision-making surrounding the disclosure of the genetic origins of embryo donor offspring to family, friends and the offspring themselves.

Associated Blog Segments
The first segment of this series introduced the disclosure topic. We next conducted a survey with questions asked from the perspective of an embryo donor. Incorporating the results of the survey, the second blog segment, Part I and Part II, examined the disclosure issues from the perspective of the embryo donor. A second survey was released asking the readers to imagine they were embryo recipients. The results of that survey are discussed below.

Survey Results: “Imagine You Were an Embryo Recipient”

1. If I were an embryo recipient, I would prefer an (choose only one):

• Anonymous Embryo Donation 44% (15/34)
• Approved Embryo Donation 24% ( 8/34)
• Open Embryo Donation 32% (11/34)

Comments:
Not quite half of the respondents wanted to receive donated embryos in a totally anonymous fashion, twice as many as the first survey where respondents imagined they were embryo donors. In total, about 2/3rds of the respondents preferred an anonymous donation process. When receiving embryos, anonymity seems to be a priority.

2. If I received donated embryos, I would tell the following:

Comments:
More than twice as many respondents would tell family and friends about receiving donated embryos than would not tell. As you will see in the upcoming blog, the percentage wanting disclosure here is significantly higher than is seen with actual embryo donors.

3. As an embryo recipient, would you want to tell any of your embryo donation offspring that they came from donated embryos?

• Yes                        59% (20/34)
• No                        18% ( 6/34)
• Not certain          23% (  8/34)

Comments:
More than half of the respondents stated they would tell their children that they came from donated embryos. Those that were uncertain may move towards nondisclosure if disclosure is not done early.

4. As an embryo recipient, if I chose an Anonymous or Approved Embryo Donation (both are still anonymous), I would prefer to:

• Remain Anonymous:                                                                                                                        41% (14/34)
• Be initially Anonymous with the possibility of Open-Identity at Any Age:                        56% (19/34)
• Be initially Anonymous with the possibility of Open-Identity at 18+ Years of Age:              3% (   1/34)

Comments:
If the respondent chose an anonymous procedure, slightly less than half stated they would stay anonymous. If Open-Identity was preferred, nearly all wanted to have the ability to contact the donors when the child was younger than 18. Interestingly, this same pattern was seen in an earlier survey where the majority desired open-identity before age 18 but answering from the perspective of the embryo donor. Once again, this is very different than what is currently done with adoption.

5. As an embryo recipient, if I chose the Open Embryo Donation process I would prefer:

• Open Embryo Donation with Open-Identity at any age:                                    44% (15/34)
• Open Embryo Donation with Open-Identity at 18+ years of age:                        56% (19/34)

Comments:
In the Open-Identity part of the contracted process, slightly more of the respondents wanted the option to contact the donor when the child was at least 18 years of age. Because the percentages were so close, however, it is possible that the respondents were rather split in this decision.

Thank you for your input. Tomorrow we will release the next installment of this series – Disclosure Issues From the Perspective of the Embryo Recipient. This will be released in two separate sections. With the completion of this segment, we will also launch our final survey and hope you will again give us feedback.

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