School aged donor-conceived children as healthy as other children
Donor sperm has been used for many decades to help couples where the male partner is infertile to have children. In more recent times, same-sex couples and single women increasingly have also used donor sperm to have children.
Until now little has been known about the health and development of children conceived with donor sperm as they get older, but a recent study conducted in Australia show’s that they are as healthy as other children.
In the study published in July in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online, Dr David Amor and his colleagues asked mothers of 225 children who were aged between 5 and 11 years to complete detailed questionnaires about their children’s physical, and emotional health and development and their health care needs. The questionnaire also asked for information about physical functioning, behaviour, social functioning, self-esteem, mental health, and whether the child was dependent on any medication or had special needs. The results showed that the children were no different to other children of the same age.
This large study provides reassuring news for parents of children who were conceived with donor sperm and those who contemplate using donor sperm to have children.