| Description |
1 online resource (streaming video file) (49 min. 50 sec.) ; 299874790 bytes |
| Summary |
A warm and moving documentary about a new kind of family emerging from the interventions of science. In 1991 Sylvia Barr was one of Britain's first anonymous egg donors. After donating as a one-off at the London Fertility Centre, all she asked to know was whether her donation had been successful, but she soon found out more than she'd bargained for.Sylvia was struck to discover an article in the Daily Mail six weeks after she donated, telling the story of a woman called Joan Isherwood who had successfully become pregnant using an egg donor. The clinic, the dates and the fact that they were twins, coincided exactly with Sylvia's story. She felt sure that Joan was her recipient.Joan had a tragic story - her two sons were killed in a car crash when they were on holiday in Crete, and in her mid-40s she desperately wanted to start a new family. When she successfully used an egg donor, there were countless press reports that covered her moving story of tragedy transformed into happiness, and even a BBC documentary in 1994 that showed the twins as toddlers.Sylvia felt tormented by seeing children who were genetically hers, but were in fact strangers who she wasn't supposed to know. She was tempted to make contact but terrified of upsetting a family who had already suffered so much. But once the twins turned 18 she felt it was right to take the bold step of contacting them.Alongside Sylvia's story is the story of her son Eliott. Eliott was conceived with the help of an anonymous sperm donor, and was born six months before Sylvia donated her eggs. Now, Eliott is ready to search for his sperm donor father.For Sylvia, contact with her recipient is at her fingertips. The film follows her turmoil as she decides how and when to make contact with Joan and the twins, and the extraordinary consequences of her decision.PRODUCTION DETAILS:Executive Producer: Peter Dale. Executive Producer for BBC: Charlotte Moore. Produced, Directed and Filmed by Tanya Stephan |
| Event |
Broadcast 2013-07-26 at 20:30:00 |
| Notes |
Classification: NC |
| Subject |
Artificial insemination, Human -- Social aspects.
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Fertilization in vitro, Human -- Social aspects.
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Human reproductive technology.
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Surrogate mothers -- Moral and ethical aspects.
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England -- Surrey.
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| Form |
Streaming video
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| Author |
Stephan, Tanya, director
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Barr, Slyvia, contributor
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