Long-term outcomes of children conceived through egg donation and their parents: a review of the literature.

Abstract

This review examined the literature on the long-term outcomes for children and parents in families created through egg donation, focusing on child psychological adjustment, parental psychological health, and parent-child relationship quality. Where possible, outcomes were examined according to family disclosure status (i.e. whether or not the parents intended to tell/had told the child about their method of conception). The small body of empirical literature indicated that children and parents function well throughout childhood and into early adolescence, although there appeared to be subtle differences in mother-child relationship quality. None of the differences found in relationship quality indicated problems in the mother-child relationship, and instead reflected differences within the normal range.