How to Talk to Your Kids about their Donor Conception Workshop Part 2- Lived Experiences Session

LGBTQ+ families are created in many beautiful and diverse ways, and for many families, donor conception plays an important role in that journey. Conversations surrounding donor conception can bring up important questions around identity, belonging, family storytelling, and how to share these experiences with children in thoughtful and affirming ways.

In partnership with COLAGE and The Sperm Bank of California, Our Family Coalition is excited to host the second session of this two-part workshop series focused on donor conception within LGBTQ+ families.

This second session centers the voices and lived experiences of donor-conceived adults with LGBTQ+ parents. We believe it is essential that donor-conceived people remain at the heart of conversations surrounding donor conception and family building. During this community-centered panel discussion, donor-conceived adults will share personal stories, reflections, and insights about identity, family, connection, and growing up in LGBTQ+ households.

Participants will have the opportunity to hear directly from panelists and engage in a thoughtful community Q&A focused on navigating conversations about donor conception with care, honesty, and openness within their own families.

The first session of this workshop series focused on guidance from experts in donor conception, LGBTQ+ family building, and child development. Participants explored key considerations for discussing donor conception with children, including different donor arrangements — known, unknown, open, and closed donors — and how those dynamics may shape family conversations and experiences over time.

While each workshop can stand on its own, we highly encourage families to attend both sessions to gain a more comprehensive understanding of donor conception, family storytelling, and identity development.

We encourage participants to come prepared with questions, reflections, and openness as we engage in this meaningful community conversation.

Meet Our Panelists of Donor-Conceived Adults:
(More Bios Coming Soon)

Aaron Dickinson Sachowitz PhD is Professor of Media Technologies and Culture at Saint Mary’s College of California where his research includes queer family communication, food justice, hip-hop culture in the media, and cooperative enterprise. Aaron grew up in Berkeley, the son of lesbians who had him through anonymous donor-assisted insemination before sperms banks served anyone other than married heterosexual couples. While in his 20s, Aaron met his donor, a gay man living in Berkeley. Aaron has three children, the oldest with a single lesbian through known donor insemination and the younger two with his wife. He lives in Berkeley with his wife and twins.

Katy Corbus (she/they) is a second generation queer artist living in Los Angeles. She grew up in Albany, CA in the 90s with two lesbian moms and was conceived via donor from The Sperm Bank of California. As a teenager she connected with half-siblings through the Donor Sibling Registry, and a decade later to her donor and his family, through TSBC. Katy has built a career in the arts as a performer and as a teacher, and their queer family structure and community continues to inform their creative practice (they’re currently developing a semi-autobiographical short film). Katy also works as a childcare provider to queer-parented families across the LA area, and is volunteering with COLAGE to establish an LA chapter.