Tuesday, January 11, 2011

PRESS RELEASE: The Anonymous Us Project goes live today

Announcing "The Anonymous Us Project", First Ever Story-Collective for People Involved in Reproductive Technologies


"Not all the kids are doing all right," says Alana S., founder and curator of AnonymousUs.org, "Anonymous Us is a place for all participants in the fertility industry to share their own truths in a way that retains dignity and privacy for our loved ones, while also sharing valuable perspectives and life experiences."


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January 11, 2011 - New York, NYAnonymousUs.org is a newly launched website that invites anyone and everyone involved in reproductive technologies, but especially persons born via these practices, to write about their experiences and opinions- anonymously.


In the US, it is estimated that every year 30,000-60,000 children are born through the use of sperm donation. While the fertility industry makes $3.3 billion annually, little is known about the experiences of these children and what kind of adults they grow up to be.


The Anonymous Us project aims to be a safety zone for real and honest opinions about reproductive technologies and family fragmentation. The mission of Anonymous Us is "to share the experiences of voluntary and involuntary participants in these technologies, while preserving the dignity and privacy of the story-tellers and their loved ones."


Alana S., a 24-year-old woman from San Francisco, herself donor-conceived, founded the site as a "tool for better decision-making so that parents and policy-makers aren't relying solely on biased endorsements from clinics and vendors." Alana recognizes that many donor-conceived adults may wish to improve practices and policies, but fear publicity or conflicts of loyalty with their families. They may have ugly family secrets. "Many of us want to speak about our pain, but we don't want our faces on camera or to hurt our parents."


If you are donor-conceived, a former or current sperm or egg donor, a surrogate, parent, adoptee, fertility industry professional, or just someone invested and involved in these practices, you are welcome to submit a story or share your opinion at http://www.AnonymousUs.org. Select stories are read aloud on the free podcast: http://AnonymousUs.org/podcasts.




About The Anonymous Us Project & Alana S.:
The Anonymous Us Project was founded by Alana S., a writer and musician from San Francisco concerned with gender and family issues. She co-wrote the upcoming feature-length film Adam & Eva with filmmaker Michael Galinsky of Rumur Productions, a story about a girl who sells her own eggs to investigate her ancestry and the identity of her sperm donor father. Alana S. currently lives in Brooklyn, NY.


Contact:
Alana S., Founder, The Anonymous Us Project
408-406-6998
AnonymousUsProject@gmail.com

3 comments:

rachelispolish said...

thank you lindsay

Lindsay said...

You're welcome Alana. I try to get the word out as best I can :o)

Anonymous said...

I would caution against describing this as a "safety zone" - the stories are public and accessibe to anyone to give their sympathetic and non sympathetic responses.