'Donor Child' Finds Work at Sperm Bank Rewarding
Gretchen Heinrich's parents used a sperm bank almost 30 years ago. Today, she is helping other women find solutions to fighting infertility as an employee with the European Sperm Bank USA. By Chris Gamache
Seattle, WA (PRWEB) December 10, 2010
Gretchen Heinrich is uniquely qualified to work as a biological analyst at the Seattle-based sperm bank, European Sperm Bank USA. Almost 30 years ago, she was conceived with the use of donor sperm. Gretchen finds her current job “perfect for someone who truly understands what it’s like to be a donor-conceived child.”
Gretchen’s story touches on many of the issues faced by couples considering donor insemination. Her parents decided to use donor sperm after discovering they were both carriers of a rare genetic mutation making it impractical to have a child on their own. The year was 1982. There were no donor catalogs, no donor numbers, no special testing and no open donors. The physician who performed the insemination advised Gretchen’s parents that he would do his best to match ethnicity, that the donor was likely a medical student, and that they would never know the donor’s identity.
Even as a child, Gretchen knew something did not “feel” quite right. But her parents never shared their secret about her conception. Instead, Gretchen discovered she was conceived with donor sperm when she was 21. She firmly believes “skeletons that big rarely stay in the closet.” The news did not come as a complete shock to Gretchen, but has caused heartache. “Learning that everything you were told as a child wasn’t exactly truthful is a hard pill to swallow,” reflects Gretchen. While she sympathizes with the struggles her parents endured, she believes “the healthiest relationships are built on honesty and trust.”
Although her parents have helped her fill in the gaps, Gretchen will likely never be able to identify her donor or donor siblings. She doesn’t blame her parents but rather the clinic they used, for not taking into consideration the life it was helping to create. That clinic has long since closed and all records have been destroyed. Gretchen reluctantly accepts this reality. “While many of my questions were answered, the really big ones will probably never be solved. I read somewhere it’s hard to start a book without having read chapter one. I agree. It’s difficult not knowing my chapter one.”
In her position with European Sperm Bank USA, Gretchen recognizes that even though sperm bank practices have changed dramatically since the early 80’s, many of the issues faced by prospective parents remain the same. Gretchen states “it’s a very rewarding feeling to know that I am helping create miracles and helping couples that perhaps struggle the way my parents did in starting a family.”
The fact that European Sperm Bank USA only uses Open ID donors (donors who have agreed to the release of their identity when offspring reach age 18) makes Gretchen’s employment there all the more fitting. The policies of European Sperm Bank USA give her confidence that children conceived with its donor sperm will at least have an opportunity to know their donors when they become adults and to connect with their donor siblings. “Knowing that I’m contributing my time and efforts to future children that will never have to wonder about their own chapter one makes me more passionate about my work.”
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