Tuesday 21st June 2022 – 8pm (BST)
Through this panel discussion we explored legal parenthood when it comes to donor conception. This can be a particular fear and big question for solo and LGBTQ parents, particularly where a known donor or surrogate is involved, as well as for those within a heterosexual couple too.
Hayley Darknell lead this discussion with a personal interest in mind as the non-genetic parent within a two-mum family, being joined by Anest Mathias, a Senior Solicitor specialising in Family Law and Angela Pericleous-Smith, an experienced counsellor who has supported many individuals and couples with these fears.
We explored the differences between at home insemination and using a licensed clinic and how this can affect legal parenthood. They also be talking about legal documentation, how relationship status can impact, what to consider with known donation pre treatment contracts and birth certificates, including what to expect when registering the birth after donor conception.
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Speaker Bio
Angela Pericleous-Smith
Angela is Chair of the British Infertility Counselling Association (BICA) and has practised as a specialist fertility counsellor for almost 20 years. Angela offers support, therapeutic and implications counselling to couples and individuals exploring their fertility and considering assisted conception or fertility preservation.
Speaker Bio
Hayley Darknell
Hayley lives in Wales with her wife of 11 years. They have two beautiful children via donor sperm IVF. Her wife carried and they used her eggs. In a twist of fate, Hayley is also a donor conceived person herself. Her parents used an anonymous (sperm) donor to have her as part of pioneering IVF treatment in the 1980s, however she didn’t find this out until much later in life.
Speaker Bio
Anest Mathias
As a Senior Solicitor specialising in family law, Anest has a particular specialism in fertility, surrogacy and modern parenting law and advises heterosexual and same sex couples as well as individuals seeking to create their family. She is experienced in international and domestic surrogacy arrangements.