This study followed families in the UK who had children through identifiable egg donation, where children can access the donor’s identity when they turn 18, or known donation. The research found that these families generally function well, with warm parent–child relationships and parents showing normal levels of psychological well‑being. Children were emotionally secure and reported positive relationships with their parents.

Some parents experienced uncertainty or emotional complexity, particularly around disclosure and future contact between the child and the donor, but most planned to be open with their children. While some parents reported higher parenting stress and lower social support than parents who conceived using their own eggs, these differences were largely linked to older parental age, not egg donation itself. Overall, the findings suggest that identifiable egg donation is a positive and viable way to form families, and that openness and support are key to family well‑being.

Selected publications can be found below:

Imrie, S., Lysons, J., Foley, S., Jadva, V., Shaw, K., Grimmel, J., & Golombok, S. E. (2023). A longitudinal study of families created using egg donation: Family functioning at age 5.Journal of Family Psychology, 37(8), 1253–1265. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0001145

Imrie, S., Lysons, J., Jadva, V., Shaw, K., Grimmel, J., & Golombok, S. (2022). Parent-child relationship quality and child psychological adjustment in families created using egg donation: children’s perspectives at age 5 years. Human reproduction (Oxford, England), 37(3), 499–509. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deab265

Lysons, J., Imrie, S., Jadva, V. and Golombok, S. (2022). ‘I’m the only mum she knows’: parents’ understanding of, and feelings about, identity-release egg donation. Human Reproduction, 37(10), pp. 2426-2437. https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/deac174

Imrie, S., Jadva, V., & Golombok, S. (2020). “Making the child mine”: Mothers’ thoughts and feelings about the mother–infant relationship in egg donation families. Journal of Family Psychology, 34(4), 469–479. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000619

Imrie, S., Jadva, V., Fishel, S., & Golombok, S. (2019). Families created by egg donation: Parent–child relationship quality in infancy. Child Development, 90(4), 1333–1349. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13124

Imrie, S., Jadva, V. and Golombok, S. (2019). Psychological well-being of identity-release egg donation parents with infants. Human Reproduction. doi:10.1093/humrep/dez201