Story: Diverse families

Choosing a donor father

Lesbian couple Megan and Chris met, fell in love and set up home together. They both wanted to have children and started talking about how they could become parents. Megan had a close friend, Barclay, who had told her years ago that he would be a sperm donor if she wanted to have children. In this video clip she talks about contacting Barclay and asking him to help them have a child. Barclay, a gay man, was enthusiastic from the start. They learned from Natural Family Planning about how to chart Megan's cycle and when to use a syringe to insert Barclay's sperm. Eventually, Megan conceived two daughters, Casey and Taylor. While Barclay did not live in the same city as the family, he was involved in his daughters' lives and sometimes shared family holidays.

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How to cite this page:

Rosemary Du Plessis and Candice Diggelmann, 'Diverse families - Families with lesbian or gay parents', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/video/31599/choosing-a-donor-father (accessed 2 May 2024)

Story by Rosemary Du Plessis and Candice Diggelmann, published 5 May 2011, reviewed & revised 22 Jun 2018