Roy – Born

Name: Roy

Born: 

Where Conceived: 

I discovered I was Donor Conceived after overhearing my mum talking to her friend about how me and my sister were conceived.  I was 15 at the time.  It didn’t shock me as much as you’d think it would as I’d already spent most of my childhood and teens thinking I was adopted anyway.

I had always known that something wasn’t right, and I recall challenging my mum about it at a very early age.  My hobbies, interests, and educational achievements did not align with my family.  If my mum was honest, she probably didn’t know how to steer and support someone like me. I felt very alone.

It’s only been in the last 10 years or so that I’ve been very open about my story whereas I think it’s fair to say that earlier on I felt slightly ashamed of my origins – coming from an ingrained culture of secrecy and lies contributed to incubating that mindset.

I found and reached out to my biological father a few years back and the response from them landed into that same bucket that many other DC People get – the one where you’re left feeling rejected.

My journey has had a great number of people telling me that my journey isn’t mine, that my existence is owned by, and is a burden to, others (thanks Biological Father, family, friends).  Only others in the DC community have helped me through owning my journey.

Thankfully now (in the UK at least) we have a much better understanding and openness around Donor Conception.  It’s my lifetime ambition to ensure that Donor Conceived UK has the support it needs to help others navigate their journey for a much better outcome than my own.