Blog written by CLI Laboratory Director, Michelle Ottey, PhD.
Some women have reached out for support and community in online forums. Some Cryobanks offer chat rooms or forums for their clients and there are numerous online resources for DI (donor insemination) families. For example, our Cryobank offers a free online resource for support and discussion to our donor sperm recipients. These forums often have thousands of users and thousands of conversation threads. That may sound overwhelming, but generally is well organized into specific thread discussions that allow the user to easily navigate the site.
The specific threads cover a plethora of useful topics. Some examples are: single women starting the journey, same sex couples exploring home insemination, features that help choose a sperm donor, discussions on the types of fertility treatments used and who has had success, etc.
Some Cryobanks offer the option of joining a private donor forum. If you used a sperm donor and have a reported birth, you can join a private group that includes others who have used that donor. This allows people to connect half siblings.
We encourage our recipients to explore the forums for resources and discussions that may be helpful to them throughout their journey.
