Let’s Talk about Egg Donation: Real Stories from Real People by Marna Gatlin and Carole LieberWilkins

Essential reading for those considering egg and embryo donation.

Marna Gatlin became a patient of John S. Hesla MD in 1999 when she attended ORM Fertility. He was immediately impressed with her intelligence, warmth, thoughtfulness, and candor. Marna has since founded a large non-profit making organization, Parents via Egg Donation (PVED) which has for many years become an important source of information for people who want to become parents via egg donation.

Carole LieberWilkins became one of the first women in the world to become a mother through egg donation. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist at a private practice in Los Angeles, she is a specialist in the field of reproductive medicine, and family building options. She is PVED’s Mental Health Director and was a founding member of Resolve of Greater Los Angeles in 1987.

In the last 30 years the process of egg donation has changed a lot, and the reasons for needing egg donation are many. Marna Gatlin and Carole LieberWilkins the co-authors of this book, call upon their own experience, and those of others to provide their readers with an essential resource which explains the journey ‘real families’ experiences when building a family built through egg and embryo donation.

Within its pages the processes are explained and true accounts given by those who have used this process. Questions are answered, fears calmed and doubts expressed, allowing the reader to fully understand that they are not alone, others have been through the experience. I really love the quote from Marna which says “Don’t get too hung up emotionally regarding your egg donor selection because at the end of the day, the baby you have is the baby you were meant to have.”

There are no subjects glazed over in this frank, honest, no-holds-barred book. I had to smile at the questions asked, especially about hair color, simply because my sister comes from a family who all have blue or grey eyes and yet hers are dark brown. These things don’t matter, and shouldn’t be worried about, having a happy healthy child is all that matters.

Uniquely, this is the first book which provides its readers with age-appropriate scripts to allay the fears of parents about how to talk to their children and explain the special way they were conceived. There is also a list of resources which contains organizations and books which you may wish to read.

In summary: This book is an essential resource for those who are considering building a family through egg and embryo donation. Highly recommended!

About the Authors:

Marna Gatlin and Carole LieberWilkins are two experts in the field of egg donation and third party reproduction, with a combined experience of nearly 50 years. Both moms via egg donation themselves, they have dedicated their careers to teaching families how to talk to their kids about how they were conceived. Carole was one of the first people in the world to become a mother via egg donation. She is a therapist specializing in infertility, adoption, and alternative family building. Marna is the founder and executive director of Parents Via Egg Donation, which connects over 10,000 families created via egg and embryo donation worldwide every year.

About the Book:

Let’s Talk About Egg Donation was written by, for, and about families built through egg and embryo donation. It takes the reader on a journey–from infertility diagnosis, to pregnancy, to how to talk to your child about egg donation. Let’s Talk About Egg Donation tells true stories of real families who are parenting via egg and embryo donation. Their stories are woven throughout the book to craft an informative, easy-to-read narrative that focuses on positive language choices. This is the first book written by parents through egg donation that gives you age-appropriate scripts for how to take the scary out of talking to your kids about the special way in which they were conceived.

Available from Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Talk-about-Egg-Donation/dp/148087759X/r...