Curious Connections conference at Manchester University, July 2020

Our director Natalie Gamble was delighted to speak at the ‘Curious Connections: The social life of egg and sperm donation’ conference run by the Morgan Centre and Sociology Department at Manchester University on 2nd July 2020.Read more about the Curious Connections project

Although originally planned to take place in Manchester, the conference was held online as a result of public health restrictions and was attended by more than 200 people from the UK and around the world. The conference presented the Morgan Centre’s latest research into the experiences and perspectives of egg and sperm donors, the first major study of its kind since the move toward identity-release donation in the UK.

Natalie took part in a panel discussion about UK law, asking whether it fit donors’ needs and perspectives. The session was chaired by Professor Jennifer Mason from Manchester University and the other speakers were Dr Petra Nordqvist (project lead on the Curious Connections research), Dr Debra Bloor (director of CARE fertility) and Lee Baylis (sperm donor).

Natalie spoke about the rights given to UK donors to access information and the growing appetite for more open donation relationships, as well as her own personal experience as an egg donor.

Watch the discussion, including Natalie’s presentation