Child and Family Social Work 2001, 6, pp 295–304 © 2001 Blackwell Science Ltd INTRODUCTION Adoption has been practised in many different soci- eties over an extensive period of time. In contempo- rary western cultures, the deliberate severance of the genetic link between parent and child and the legally sanctioned creation of a new family unit based on social relationships has been a central feature of adop- tion (see Note 1). In western societies, the number of infant adoptions has decreased dramatically over the last quarter century. In 1975, a total of 4548 children aged under 12 months were adopted in England and Wales. In 1999 only 238 similarly aged children were adopted in the entire UK (General Register Office for Scotland 1999; Office for National Statistics 2000; General Register Office, Northern Ireland, personal communication 2001). Donor-assisted conception, where a third party provides an embryo or gametes (sperm or eggs) to enable a woman to become pregnant, is a relatively recent practice, especially where it is dependent on the application of technology (see Note 2). Because donor insemination (DI) relies to a very limited extent on technology, it has been practised for considerably longer than either egg or embryo donation, and remains the most prevalent form of donor-assisted conception, accounting for 1612 of the 2143 donor- conceived births reported in the UK between 1 April 1998 and 31 March 1999 – the most recent period for which data are available (Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority 2000) – although these figures do not, of course, take account of births resulting from self-insemination. The development of donor-assisted conception has promoted debate about the potential relevance of adoption experience, although the validity of com- parison is contested (see for example Brandon & Warner 1977; Bruce et al. 1988; Haimes 1988;Walby & Symons 1990; Deech 1998; Shenfield 1999;Turner & Coyle 2000). A key difficulty in exploring these different per- spectives is the considerable disparity in the available empirical evidence between adoption and donor- assisted conception. Research in the two areas has been conducted according to different models, has explored different issues, and has had different pur- poses. The breadth and quality of conventional research concerning the experiences of people per- sonally involved with adoption is unmatched in donor-assisted conception. Although there is increas- ing availability of personal accounts of people involved in donor-assisted conception, both in print and through Internet networks, the secrecy characterizing its practice poses continuing obstacles for research – 295 The implications of adoption for donor offspring following donor-assisted conception Eric Blyth*, Marilyn Crawshaw†, Jean Haase‡ and Jennifer Speirs§ *Professor of Social Work, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield, †Teaching Fellow, Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of York, York, UK, ‡Counsellor, Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility Program, London Health Sciences Centre, London, Ontario, Canada, and §Infertility Counsellor, Department of Urological Surgery, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, UK Correspondence: Eric Blyth, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK Keywords: adoption, donor offspring, donor-assisted conception, genetic origins Accepted for publication: April 2001 ABSTRACT In this paper the authors, all experienced social workers with research and practice interests in assisted conception, review prac- tices concerning access to genetic origins information in adoption, and consider to what extent these may be relevant for practice in donor-assisted conception. The paper concludes with policy and prac- tice recommendations that take account of the views of donor off- spring and their desire for increased information about their genetic heritage.