Brave New Humans: The Dirty Reality of Donor Conception

by Sarah Dingle

An astonishing real-life whodunnit and investigative exposé, Brave New Humans reveals the uncomfortable realities of assisted reproduction and its very human fallout.

Journalist Sarah Dingle was 27 when she learnt that her identity was a lie. Over dinner one night, her mother casually mentioned Sarah had been conceived using a sperm donor. The man who’d raised Sarah wasn’t her father; in fact, she had no idea who her father was. Or who she really was. 

As the shock receded, Sarah put her professional skills to work and began to investigate her own existence. Thus began a ten-year journey to understand who she was – digging through hospital records, chasing leads and taking a DNA test – that finally led her to her biological origins. What she discovered along the way was shocking: hospital records routinely destroyed, trading of eggs and sperm, women dead, donors exploited, and hundreds of thousands of donor-conceived people globally who will never know who they are. But there’s one thing this industry hasn’t banked on: the children of the baby business taking on their makers.

In a profoundly personal way, Brave New Humans shines a light on the global fertility business today – a booming and largely unregulated industry that takes a startlingly lax approach to huge ethical concerns, not least our fundamental human need to know who we are, and where we come from. 

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Audiobook, Australia, Memoir

352 pages, Paperback

First published May 5, 2021

Reviews

[Elise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I heard about this book from a woman who had been conceived via donor sperm. It sounded fascinating and most aspects of it are - it is revelatory, thought- provoking and challenging to the status quo. However, Dingle is so determined to provide evidence of her thorough attempts to unearth every angle or nuance related to infertility and the use of donor tissue, that there were many chapters that I motored through at high speed. I certainly do feel great empathy for Ms Dingle and other donor conceived babies of her era who had few to no rights to determine their biological origins. My gran was adopted within the extended family and although she was able to establish her actual place within her biological family, she spent a great deal of her adult life searching for cousins, reading up on the ancestral roots of the family and updating the family tree. That insatiable hunger to 'know' runs deepest in those who have had it removed from them by circumstances relating to their birth. I'm appalled that the fertility clinics have given so little thought to the half siblings they've created, that health services often sanction unethical behaviour by pretending that nothing untoward is happening, and that governments have done so little to pass laws to regulate an industry littered with mine fields.

[Jen Mactaggart · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing; I was gripped by Sarah's personal story and the thoroughly researched facts she intersperses through the narrative. It's impossible not to be horrified by the story of genetic material donation and the rapidity with which it has been normalised in essentially a generation. This story shows how children's rights are trumped by men's convenience and the pursuit of profit. It is disgusting that Sarah had to spend more than five years and incredible emotional energy into finding out basic information that is her right to know. And she will probably never have the full picture of who shares her genetics. It's staggering to realise the pace of development in this field without ANY checks and balances let alone legislation, exemplified by doctors themselves often donating. Thank you Sarah for baring your soul to share this story. It is so important.

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m rarely at a loss for words but Sarah Dingle has really nailed this topic .

“… it doesn’t matter if you bought your child, if you bought a Ukrainian egg and South African sperm, implanted them in a woman in Greece, took the baby from her when it was a few hours old, and left the country without once looking back. It doesn’t matter if you lie to your child about all of this. It doesn’t matter if they are never made aware of a truth which would sicken them and rock them to the core. Nothing matters, , and what you want, and the good money you paid, and the baby that the machine delivers in return.”

“ I cannot accept a baby business that does not uphold the rights of the child. And all adults should know that just because you want something, doesn’t mean you always get it. Particularly if what you want is another human being.”

Brilliant .

[Matty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book was SO eye-opening!
I borrowed this on a whim… donor conception is a topic & industry I’d never really thought too much about… but I thought what the hell.
It was seriously unputdownable!
Part memoir (the author is donor-conceived and found out at 27), part kick-ass piece of investigative journalism (the author was also a reporter for ABC’s 730) - this is an incredibly interesting read. The author shows her feelings very clearly throughout which, for me, really enhanced the telling. The industry is NUTS & she made me realise some serious fundamental flaws in the baby-making machine & lack of rights for the children born of it.
One of my favourite reads of the year!

[Carly Findlay · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Sarah Dingle’s journalism work for years. I was aware of her donor conception story after reading it in Good Weekend and seeing Australian Story. So I was keen to read Brave New World.

This is an incredible long form piece of investigative journalism. Sarah including her story of uncovering her donor father after years of trying and discovering the corrupt donor industry was enlightening.

But the depths she’s researched and reported on the corrupt, deceptive and unethical donor industry was astounding. I cannot believe the lack of ethics and harm that has been done - in the 1980s, until now. I won’t leave any spoilers here, but I am sure you’ll be as shocked as me when you read it. Horrific.

This is an important book, and Sarah’s work will, no doubt, change things for the better. It will change the donor industry, especially the secrecy around it, and I’m sure it will change people minds, or make them more informed if r they’re considering using a donor to create a child.

What a brave thing she’s done.

I listened to the audiobook, which Sarah has narrated, and as expected, she’s brilliant.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came to Sarah Dingle’s story via her ‘Australian Story’.

When I saw the author was speaking at a local bookshop to launch the book, I naturally bought tickets and the book.

During the bookshop event, a member of the audience insisted on sharing her adoption story. This was a good prelude of what was to come.

Reading the book, one thing sadly became clear - donor-conceived people are given little to no rights in their own conception & historic medical recordings (hospital records, details on birth certificates, notification of half siblings, etc). No media or government agency is particularly interested in the struggles or stories of donor-conceived people either.

The first 140 pages detail Sarah’s political action. But, for me, it was the personal discoveries and relationships that are most insightful and absorbing as a reader.

My personal takeaway: don’t share genetic materials.

[Alice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible. It’s one of those books that will change you. I never thought about the fertility industry from the perspective of the “product” - the baby that then becomes an adult. There is so much fire, emotion and intelligence in this memoir/exposé. It’s completely changed my understanding of donor conception. It’s written from Sarah’s perspective and yet you end up thinking about all the players in the fertility industry and unintended consequences of making babies using donor eggs/sperm or embryos. I read this in a few days and it was totally gripping.

[Ineke · Rating 5 out of 5]

She's angry and she's right. I hope people listen!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolutely fascinating and thought-provoking book. This dives into the topic of science-assisted reproduction from the angle of the rights of the resulting children. Do sperm donors have the right to be anonymous, or do the actual human beings who are born from those “donations” have the right to their own medical histories? And that’s just the first and simplest of the questions the author asks, as both an investigative journalist and an adult who found out her social father was not her biological father. This was an utterly compelling book, raising questions that have never occurred to me about procedures, ethics, information, safety, and honesty that are becoming ever more important as assisted reproduction becomes more common.

Absolutely recommended as this topic becomes ever more critical in our complex society.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant read. Wow. This book has completely changed my views about assisted reproductive technology and donor conception. I still can’t believe the appalling history and lack of regulation. This book is so important.

[Bethany Ellington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was released only about a month ago and I stumbled upon it by accident and impulse (thanks Libby).

This book dove deep into an issue I'd never given any thought and I imagine most other people have also never considered. I hope this book gets the attention it deserves and sheds light on the deeply corrupt ~fully dystopian~ fertility industry, it's commodification of human life, abject denial of basic human rights, and it's alarmingly high risks of large-scale accidental incest.

[Jules · Rating 5 out of 5]

After discovering at 27 years old that her father is not biologically related to her, Dingle uses her journalistic skills to research her own story and the ethical concerns around donor conception more broadly. The subtitle - “the dirty reality of donor conception” - really sets the tone for this book. The language is heavy handed, comparing donor conception to animal husbandry, describing donor conceived people as having been “made”, and Dingle’s disdain for donor conception and everyone involved in her own is palpable. Honestly, it is tough going, and unapologetically one-sided. But this is a very compelling story and in a culture which chooses to focus only on donor success stories, a vital contribution.

As with any medical practice, the origins of donor conception are incredibly unethical and abhorrent by today’s standards – but the legal system and policies and procedures in place today have not caught up. In my social circle donor conception is viewed as a miracle: it’s what has allowed many of my friends to be parents and others to have been born at all. For these people, the difference is active and informed consent, and transparency with all involved. We aren’t so naive to think it’s always been this way, but we probably do kid ourselves that things are much better now. Dingle is taking us to the dark side of donors, and presents a compelling argument against the practice.

Dingle embarks on a mission for answers about her donor and is failed at almost every turn. She is infuriated by constantly being told “things were different at the time” and if I were in her position, I’m sure I would feel the same way. That being said, I think it’s a big ask to be judging the actions of the past by the accepted standards and beliefs today, which are only informed through experiences – often traumatic – of those involved.

The weight lifts slightly towards the end of the book when Dingle seeks out her donor and biological siblings through the miracle of Ancestry.com, with the help of an altruistic amateur genealogist. There’s far too much covered in the book for me to go into here – genetic sexual attraction, gross medical malpractice, legislative changes, heartache. I was hooked from the first page. Dingle is to be commended for her advocacy in this area.

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fascinating and engaging book; I devoured it in two days. I bought this more for the DNA aspects but the whole issue of donor conception and the regulation (or pertinently the lack of it) was astounding. I have to agree with Sarah's arguments that no one has a right to a child, that the whole fertility industry is more concerned with finances than the children it produces, and that our culture has become money and instant gratification obsessed. I will note that I have unsuccessfully undertaken IVF which I believe also has its own problems, and that I do know people who have used donors to conceive.

What Sarah exposes about the industry is shocking and shows the collusion between the doctors, the whole medical industry, and the local and national governments who are influenced by money and power. Of the many, many issues she raises one of the most shocking is that a whole IVF department, publicly funded and situated at a hospital, was privatised and moved off site and NO ONE can show any justification/payment/agreement for that to happen. WTF? At least my own (Labour leaning) state of Victoria comes out the best of a bad bunch, and it's no surprise that Sarah's story takes place in Liberal loving NSW.

Interestingly the chickens are now coming home to roost because of the growth in the home DNA industry. I won't spoil Sarah's story but many people are finding their biological families (some not realising that they are donor conceived in the first place because there is no law, and very little help, to ensure that they are told this by their social parents) through these tests. And these tests are further showing the dubious nature of the IVF - the lack of enforcement in regulations that says donors should only have 10 families, and the fact that many doctors seem to have provided sperm for their own clinics and have tens if not hundreds of children.

I salute Sarah and her efforts in trying to bring the fertility industry to justice and I highly recommend this particularly if you are considering IVF particularly donor conception, if you have donor conceived children, if you think you might be donor conceived, or if you just enjoy DNA stories.

[Berni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Australian Walkley Award winning journalist Sarah Dingle discovered at the age of 27 that she was donor conceived. In other words, the man who she thought was her biological father, wasn’t – an unknown sperm donor was. This book is an exposé on the fertility industry for several reasons close to Dingle’s heart. She believes in the right of the child to have knowledge of their donor parent and hence any potential genetic health concerns (medical histories) and therefore donor records should be available to access. Most importantly she wants to draw attention to the lack of regulation and ethics within the industry so that any potential child born could have hundreds of half siblings and therefore be at risk of large scale accidental incest once they grow up. There needs to be a limit on ‘donations’.
One woman called Shannon who has 5 children to donor #188 discovered that other children at her day care centre were also the children of donor #188. In fact, donor #188 has produced 43 children, possibly more.
Dingle herself discovered through the website ancestry.com which uses DNA science and family history records, that her donor-conceived friend Bec, was actually her half-sister!
Through her research and the formation of a donor conceived support group, Dingle discovered that dozens of women were unknowingly impregnated with their own doctor’s sperm. Her investigations have raised questions about Australia’s multi-million dollar industry that continues to operate with little regulation, legislation or ethics. She has sparked three government enquiries. “The whole (fertility) industry preys on vulnerability and there are very little safeguards,” Dingle says. “I cannot accept a baby business that does not uphold the rights of the child.” Health services often sanction unethical behaviour and governments around the world have done little to pass laws to regulate the industry.
I discovered this book via watching SBS documentary Inconceivable: The Secret Business of Breeding Humans. Now available to view on SBS On Demand.
Warning: This book will probably change your views on assisted reproductive technology. This is an incredible and at times shocking piece of investigative journalism that is also part memoir. My favourite read of the year.

[Melinda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book fascinated me. It raised a lot of questions about things that I had been relatively certain about. Should adopted/donor conceived children have a right to meet their biological parents - even if the parents were expressly told that things would be anonymous? Is it important for a person's wellbeing for them to know their biological family for non-medical things? Should social parents be legally required to tell their children about their biological origins?

I (presumably) have no horse in this race. To the best of my knowledge, I am not donor conceived. Based on physical similarities to family through both my father and my mother, it seems pretty unlikely that I'm not biologically related to both of them. And I have no desire to question that belief. And at this point in my life, I'd say that the chances of me having a donor conceived child (or any child) are essentially nil.

But some issues are important to me even if they don't directly impact me. And though I don't envision myself going out and lobbying politicians to correct (and acknowledge!) mistakes of the past and make a better future, I do believe that it is important to know about these things. And this book is well written, interesting, and though definitely biased, I feel that the author does a good job in presenting some of the information from both sides.

I would also recommend listening to the book - I'm kind of obsessed with how the author (who narrates it) says "rabbit." I'm tempted to make that the notification sound on my phone.

[Jo Lloyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm "donor" conceived too - something I discovered when I was 54. I met Sarah when we were among a group of other individuals from all over the world who spoke about our lived experiences as donor conceived human beings at the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child at the United Nations in Geneva in November 2019. At this point I had no idea Sarah was writing "Brave New Humans".

It's an excoriating and accurate expose of the Australian fertility industry, of Sarah's struggles to obtain information in the face of obdurate stonewalling on the behalf of the clinic and those involved and of what it's like to "be" a donor conceived person.

I resonated so much with what Sarah had to say because even though I am in the UK, there are so many parallels in what goes on here. The emotional ups and downs of being "donor" conceived are part of my story. The search for information when nothing is forthcoming has been my story too. And that's the point. That's why this book is SO important: Sarah's story isn't unique. If you are a DCP, the challenges Sarah has faced are incredibly common and are repeated globally over and over again: from clinics whose record keeping is inaccurate, lax to non existent to concerns about the number of half siblings we might have and who and where they are, to trying to access accurate medical history. The detail of Sarah's book is shocking. But so is the fact the hurdles she faced are the norm if you are created the way we were. I commend Sarah's stalwart, determined bravery in writing it.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Journalist Sarah Dingle was 27 when she discovered that her father was not her biological father. Her conception involved donor sperm. In addition to documenting her search for her biological father, this book looks at the often horrifying actions taken by the fertility industry in Australia and worldwide, and examines how the wishes of donor and prospective parents, and the egos of doctors, are put above children in the past and today.

I found some of her personal story frustrating ("do a DNA test, already!") but I can't really critique someone for how they choose to live their life. But the information about the industry was startling and enthralling. This book is not going to be for anyone who has or wants to have a child using donor material, as it's quite scathing about how parents put their own desires above the future best interests of that child. It certainly made me view fertility treatment in a new way.

[A reader somewhere · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting points made in this book but overall the author's viewpoint was way too extreme in my view - she's damning of things in such an emotive way that it's clear she has been damaged through the donor process, but she presents her opinions as facts. I've got no vested interest in the subject having never been a donor, nor am I the child of a donor, but I find her stance too extreme. Does there need to be better regulation? Of course, and the examples she writes about are frightening. But that she can't believe a donor mother would feel the embryo she gave isn't actually her child? The author is adamant that connection must be there. She's very opinionated and speaks on behalf of mother donors, when her lived experience is being the child of a sperm donor. Overall not a great read, unless you just want to hear the author's viewpoint again and again.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is powerful and should be a must read for all who work in fertility - especially where “donor” sperm and eggs are used. If this book had been edited a bit more, I’d give it five stars. There were many tales and descriptions of people and events that could have been more too the point, less feature article style. If, like me, you skim some bits, don’t give up; make sure you read from Chapter 31 on. Very moving and revealing. Dingle has convinced me - her voice, and that of other donor-conceived people, needs to be heard and their rights be paramount, not the clinic making money and not the adult wanting to be a parent.

[Chelsie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating 5 stars, not as I normally would, in the sense of my favourite book heading to my favourite shelf to live.

But ratting based on the ease of reading, that documents and unfolds a topic that is so unknown within western society. As discussed in the book, donor conception is somewhat discussed by the adults/ parents of the child. But this book opens up the conversation for those who are most impacted the donor conceived humans.

Very insightful, and I appreciate the depth and respect that the book gave to voice the concerns and issues donor conception has.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a donor conceived person this book was very important to me. It is far too often that we are completely dismissed when we try to talk about the issues with the fertility industry and creating children who will never know their biological family. This book did an amazing job at expressing the emotional issues we deal with while still pointing at evidence that show the corruption and lies that everyone involved are told. I hope this book reaches many people, including non-DCP people in a way that opens their eyes to the harm that comes from these industries.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, both clearly researched and very emotional. I never knew anything about this and it's an absolute travesty. I think everyone considering using donors for conception need to read this first to learn just how despicable this entire business is and how devastating an impact it has on the donor-conceived children who are very clearly the last priority when it comes to fertility industry and these so-called medical professionals.

[Lilly Deluca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sarah's exposure of the fertility industry was at times unpalatable and often, downright hard to swallow. As a donor-conceived person who has had an overwhelmingly positive experience with their conception, I now recognise that I am part of a small minority. Sarah has made me question the ethics of my own existence. I urge this book to anyone who, like me, has a stake in the baby-business, but also to those who don't - or maybe just don't know it yet.

[Megan S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating. I definitely went in to this book thinking that the majority of the time, donor conception was no big deal for the family and the child created. This journalistic memoir definitely gave me a lot to think about. It was quite hard to keep the timeline straight as the author tended to jump forward and back in time quite a bit but it was nonetheless and easy, educational and enjoyable read.

[Lizzie Kemper · Rating 5 out of 5]

After recommendations from fellow donor-conceived individuals, this book as extremely compelling and relatable in the emotional roller coaster we all experience in the DC community. I couldn’t put this book down.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! So well written - a non fiction page turner. It completely opened my eyes to something I hadn't given much thought to.

[Kate Cunneen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and horrifying. Angry, but understandably so.

[Christine Davie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an eye opener! So much I didn't ever think about .. how the fertility industry has left the rights of children at the bottom of the priority list and the govt is complicit. A good read

[Carly Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking and engaging.

[Nora Nora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting topic