E-MAIL :	info@ukdonorlink.org.uk
	PHONE :	0113 278 3217
	ADDRESS :	UK DonorLink, 31 Moor Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 4BG

Update - Tuesday 12th August 2008
UK Donor Link Announcement

*** David Marshall, UkDonorLink's Project Co-ordinator ***

It is with great sadness that we announce the death of David Marshall, UkDonorLink's Project Co-ordinator, on Sunday 10th August, shortly after being diagnosed with leukaemia.  David was a much respected and warmly treasured colleague and many of you reading this notice will have had contact with him.  Our thoughts are with his wife, Lyndsey, and their families.

We will be running a reduced service for the next few weeks so please bear with us if there is a delay in our response.

If you wish to speak to someone in person, please contact our administrator, Emma Kendal on 0113 278 3217 and she will arrange this.

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UK DonorLink is a pilot voluntary contact register set up to enable people conceived through donated sperm, and / or eggs , their donors and half-siblings to exchange information and where desired to contact each other. The register is specifically for anyone over the age of 18 who was conceived using donated sperm or eggs, or who donated, in the UK, before the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act came into force in August 1991. The register will be available throughout the UK.

The initiative, which is being funded by the Department of Health was announced by the former Health Minister Hazel Blears in January 2003. The pilot has been running from early 2004, progress and outcomes are being reported to the Department of Health to inform decisions on longer term funding.

The register is currently being managed and developed by After Adoption Yorkshire (AAY). They are a specialist independent registered charity that offers information, advice, counselling, support and training to people whose lives have been affected by adoption. They also have staff with experience and knowledge of donor conception issues.

UK DonorLink has a dedicated team within AAY, committed to developing a service that is shaped by the needs of donor-conceived people and their families as well as by donors and their relatives. Confidentiality and sensitivity to the very personal nature of enquiries will be a priority for the service.

AAY staff working on the project are supported by a small advisory group who have relevant professional experience, together most importantly with a donor conceived adult, a parent of donor conceived children and a former sperm donor.

We are especially concerned to ensure that people whose lives are directly touched by donor assisted conception are both informed and able to make their views known during the pilot stage of the register.

Issues continuing to be focussed on include advertising, publicity and information strategies. Our priorities are to be the day to day management of the register, DNA testing, support and counselling.

This web site will be used to give updates and progress reports on the development of the Register.

In the meantime, please register your interest and make contact with us at UK DonorLink by sending an e-mail or write to UK DonorLink, Project Manager, 31 Moor Road, Headingley, Leeds, LS6 4BG.