Is Sperm Donation Causing Problems for the Kids?

There has been some speculation that children conceived by the use of a sperm donor have an increased risk of psychological problems than those who are conceived by other means. However, most of the articles reference a single study and an article, conducted and written by a group called the Institute for American Values. Another source given is a piece published in The Daily Mail, a British newspaper not known for its strong interest in fact-checking.

Perhaps coincidentally, but more likely not, a different study was released earlier this month, and which started showing up in news stories this week, stating that their research showed that children raised by lesbian couples tended to be more well-adjusted, have higher self-esteem, and, in general, be the exact opposite of every finding from the IAV study. One has to wonder if a group with a name like IAV has an agenda that has nothing to do with sperm donation and more to do with the group more often on the receiving end of those donations. In a word, lesbians.

This connection was not immediately apparent - and in fact it was the article IAV wrote, criticizing the movie The Kids Are All Right, a story about the children of lesbian couples, which ultimately led to this hypothesis - but the IAV study itself reads more like a religious pamphlet than a set of scientific results.

The "study" is amateurish, sporting a photograph on the title page, an unattributed anecdote on page one, crazy fonts throughout, and with language more suited to an op-ed piece than real research. The only children mentioned in the study, whether adopted, conceived naturally, or conceived by artificial insemination (AI), were those raised by married couples. Those who were born from the original sperm donors, ie one night stands, were not addressed, nor were those conceived by single mothers through the use of AI. There seemed to be no comparison made to children who were orphaned, either.

There is a third article that seems to reference 2 other independent studies in Europe, and those studies appear, on the surface, to be more legitimate. Unfortunately, it was written by the "Social Affairs Editor" and no actual sources are given to verify the results discussed.

In conclusion, it seems there is no solid evidence at this time to support the idea that sperm donor children suffer any more or less than other children, or that the sperm donation itself has any bearing on the situation at all.

Sources:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/peds.2009-3153v1?maxtoshow=&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&fulltext=lesbians&searchid=1&FIRSTINDEX=0&sortspec=relevance&resourcetype=HWCIT

http://www.familyscholars.org/assets/Donor_FINAL.pdf

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1289042/Caroline-fathered-sperm-donor--does-bitterly-resent-stranger-gave-life.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/sperm-donation-children-may-face-emotional-trauma-710654.html

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/5509536/study_shows_psychological_impact_on_pg2.html?cat=5

http://www.slate.com/id/2256212