Families Created by Reproductive Donation: Issues and Research

A growing number of children are being born through the donation of gametes (sperm or eggs) or embryos, or the hosting of a pregnancy for another woman (surrogacy), thus creating families in which children lack a gestational and/or genetic relationship with one or both parents. Research on these families suggests that concerns about adverse outcomes for parenting and child development are largely unfounded. Although less is known about nontraditional families formed through reproductive donation than about traditional families, these new family types likely are not at risk for parenting or child-adjustment problems. Overall, findings suggest that the absence of a genetic or gestational connection between parents and children does not have an adverse effect on the quality of parent–child relationships or children's adjustment.