Becoming a parent through donor conception

Becoming a single parent by choice is a significant decision, and it is one that you should think about carefully. It is particularly important to consider what kinds of safety nets you have at your disposal. You should never hesitate to discuss your thoughts and wishes with your loved ones or a professional.

You can discuss your wish of having a child with your wellbeing services county’s health care service or your occupational health care or student health care. The experts in these services can direct you to the right professionals and provide information on the different options that are available to you.

You should also familiarise yourself with the support groups and peer networks in your area, to hear and share experiences with other single parents by choice or those who are considering it. Further resources:

• Simpukka ry’s and the Helminauha project’s peer support activitiesOpens in a new window.
• Sateenkaariperheet – Rainbow Families Finland’s event calendar (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.
• Association for Single-Parent Families, Yhden Vanhemman Perheiden Liitto (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.
• Single Parents’ Association (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.

The donor conception process involves various decisions and emotional aspects that you should ponder alone and with your partner before making a decision.

If you are considering donor conception treatments, contact your local health centre, occupational health care, or student health care. The experts in these clinics can direct you to the right specialists who can advise you on the donor conception process.

Many organisations also offer advice and counselling on matters related to having children. For example, you can contact:

• Simpukka ry’s and the Helminauha project’s helpline (in Finnish)Opens in a new window.
• Sateenkaariperheet – Rainbow Families Finland’s counselling and support service.Opens in a new window.

Organisations also offer peer support activities, where you and your partner can share your thoughts and hear about the experiences of others who are considering or currently undergoing donor conception treatments.

Donor conception counselling is a mandatory part of the treatment path before the initiation of the treatment process. The counselling focuses on providing information about the treatments used in donor conception, and it also includes psychological support for reflecting on the choices you will have to make, such as who will carry the child.

Public sector health care providers provide donor conception treatments to couples consisting of  same-sex and opposite-sex couples as well as to a single birth giver. Public providers carry out donor conception treatments on the basis of specific criteria.

The treatment process can be initiated when:

• the birth giver is at least 25 years old and less than 40 years old at the start of the treatments.
• the family includes up to one child.
• the birth giver's BMI does not exceed 35.

If you are seeking to become a single parent by choice, you must have been single for at least a year.

Private clinics provide donor conception treatments on a more case-by-case basis, and they also provide treatments to those who are over the age of 40 and wish to become pregnant.

Depending on the availability of donated gametes, the waiting period for donor conception treatments may be long. The waiting period in the public sector is often longer than in the private sector.

We cannot provide any fully accurate cost estimates, as each treatment path is always unique.

If you opt for a public health care provider, you will need to pay the usual client and medicine fees that you would pay in social welfare and health care.

Private clinics charge their own prices for examinations and treatments, and their treatments are usually more expensive than in public health care. The costs can amount to thousands of euros.

The treatment process starts with basic examinations that are then continued in specialised medical care with further examinations and donor conception treatments. You will need a referral from a physician for specialised donor conception treatment in public health care.

You can schedule your first visit with a nurse or physician at your local health centre, occupational health care, or student health care. You can also discuss the topic with your gynaecologist.

If you elect to use a private clinic, you can get in touch with one directly to schedule your first visit for a fertility examination and the possible resulting fertility treatments.

There are alternative pathways to welcoming a child into your family. Although today's infertility treatments often have a good rate of success, you can also consider other options and choose the most suitable path for you.

Other options for welcoming a child into your family include adoption and co-parenting. Co-parenting means having and sharing a child with a person with whom you are not intimately involved.

You can also become a foster or support parent if you want to share your life with a child and wish to support children who are experiencing difficulties in life.

• Read more about the adoption path in this guide.
• Read more about co-parenting at kumppanuusvanhemmaksi.fi (in Finnish).Opens in a new window.
• Read more about foster parenting and who can be a foster parent at Omaperhe.fi.Opens in a new window.