Meetings take place via Zoom

To Join a meeting please register, via RSVP to info@donorconception.com! For notices of upcoming meetings, sign up for our email list here!

Support

Group Descriptions

Donor Conception Canada volunteers make time to facilitate support groups on a variety of topics. If you find a topic missing, it’s likely because we’re looking for a volunteer – please reach out if that might be you!

Exploring Donor Conception. This group is designed for intended parents who are not yet pregnant, those who are thinking about donor conception and those who are trying to conceive with donor egg, sperm or embryo. Conversation often addresses issues of personal loss (fertility, relationships, biological connection), fears and concerns about parenting a donor-conceived person (attachment, connection, disclosure), and concerns about disclosure to friends, family and the community.

Parenting Young DC Kids. This group is designed for intended parents and parents of donor-conceived children up to age 10. Conversation often addresses issues of disclosure to one’s donor-conceived child (age-appropriate, frequency, comprehension), building donor family relationships (the donor, donor siblings, donor sibling families), and disclosure to family, friends & community.

Men’s Perspectives. This group is designed for parents or intended parents who identify as male. Conversation often addresses feelings that accompany male infertility (inadequacy, loss, uncertainty) and supporting an infertile partner, but can also include matters of parenting and relationship-building.

Women’s Perspectives. This group is designed for parents or intended parents who identify as female. Conversation often addresses feelings that accompany female infertility (inadequacy, loss, uncertainty) and supporting an infertile partner, but can also include matters of parenting and relationship-building. [Please note: if neither the men’s group nor the women’s group fits your gender identity, please choose the one that will best address the topics you would like to discuss.]

Queer Parenting DC Kids. This group is designed for parents or intended parents who identify as 2SLGBTQ+. Conversations will address feelings that accompany trying to conceive with a donor (known or not, at home or at a fertility clinic), supporting a non-gestating/non-biological partner, along with parenting and relationship-building. Issues of infertility, reproductive loss, uncertainty and family building fears may also be discussed, based on participants’ personal fertility experiences.

In-Person Meetings. Several times a year in Toronto, Vancouver, Ottawa, Montréal (soon), and London (Ont.), we host in-person meetings at a local library or community centre. These groups are designed for anyone who has used or is thinking about using donor conception and people who are donor-conceived. Young children are often welcome, though we cannot provide babysitting and ask parents to supervise their children including removing them from the room as necessary. Conversation ranges widely and participants often express satisfaction and joy at hearing from many different perspectives.

Talk

Donor Conception Canada is an all-volunteer organization that arranges peer-to-peer support group meetings for those experiencing donor conception. Meetings are free of charge for participants.

Donations are always welcome via e-transfer to info@donorconception.com.

A huge thank you to our all-volunteer team for donating their time & effort to facilitate these conversations! Participants include people who intend to parent using donor egg, sperm, or embryo; parents of donor-conceived people (children or adults); people who are donor conceived; and the friends and family who support them along the way. At each DCC Support Group meeting participants share their experiences (Talk), listen to each other (Support), and take away ideas and insights (Learn). Group conversations address social and emotional aspects as participants swap notes on the challenges and issues they face.

• Parents of donor-conceived people may discuss their experiences with helping their children to learn and own the story of their origin, navigating social interactions with family and community, and building relationships among the new connections discovered as a result of this journey such as the donor or donor siblings.
• Donor-conceived people may share their feelings about learning and owning their conception story, interactions with their social family and their ‘donor family’, and how their feelings have changed along the way.
• Family & friends may share experiences in providing support and counsel.