Success story 46

When we decided to try to get our second child, I was 47 and my husband was 48 years. I had no more viable eggs and egg donation was therefore the only option for us. We had no qualms about choosing egg donation. Our old age was a more major topic of discussion than what biological origin our second child would have. Maybe the choice was easier for us because we have gone through an application process in connection to adopt a child a few years ago. We have thought about and discussed that this could be an issue for our son that he has a slightly different biologically basis than her older sister. We believe, however, that how we relate to it will be the most important thing to him. We don’t see egg-donation as something unnatural, and we have chosen to be open about it. He will be raised with the knowledge of his biological origin, and how deeply he was and is wanted. In today's society children are conceived in many different ways and there are families of all varieties. Our daughter's closest friend in the nursery had two moms, and she and her sister were conceived through sperm donation. It is also much more transparency around such themes in Norway today. As the first-time mothers are getting older and older in Norway, it is also common that many become pregnant by using IVF, sperm- and egg donation. It probably makes it easier to make such choices.

Since I have two children, one made with my own eggs and the other with donor eggs, I can say that for me there is no difference in my emotional attachment to my children. The only thing that's different about my son is that he is at an age where everyone is very concerned about who he resembles. Sometimes I wonder what the donor looks like, and sometimes I wonder if I should have known more about her and her family's health. These are minor details compared to the big wonder it is to have and raise a little human being.