The kids are all right
Recent studies follow up with Lesbian Family Study started in 1986 Two recent papers from the longest-running study of lesbian families shed light on the now-grown children’s relationships with their donor siblings, their own parenting practices and what their lesbian parents think about becoming grandparents.
They also offer insights on talking about donor conception with children. Dr. Nanette Gartrell, now a visiting distinguished scholar at UCLA’s Williams Institute, began the National Longitudinal Lesbian Family Study in 1986, with a group of parents who were inseminating or pregnant.
She and her team of collaborators have since interviewed the same families in seven waves, questioning the children starting at age 10.
Both recent NLLFS studies included 75 adult offspring, ages 30 to 33 years old, from the original 84 families, an impressive retention rate.
