MORE THAN GENES
Donor eggs are not only a medical decision.
More Than Genes is a structured decision framework that helps women work through the emotional, identity and future-child questions that clinics, Google and medical information cannot answer.
Self-paced. Private. Grounded in lived experience.
See What's Inside
Why women stay stuck
Many women think they just need one more piece of information before they'll know what to do.
But often that's not what's happening.
They're trying to answer several different questions all at once.
It can feel like this...
- Genetic grief
- Fear of regret
- Time pressure
- Motherhood
- Ethics
- The donor
- Your future child
More Than Genes helps you...
- Understand what you're grieving
- Separate fear from genuine readiness
- Slow down enough to think clearly
- Explore what motherhood means to you
- Clarify what feels right for your family
- Understand the donor's place in your story
- Consider the decision through your future child’s lens
When everything is happening at once, it's hard to know what you're really feeling.
More Than Genes helps you sort each question one by one, so you can move toward a decision with greater clarity.
What makes this decision harder
Many women considering donor eggs have already gathered the facts. They know the success rates. They know the treatment process. They know time matters. What they often still need is a way to work through what the decision means for them.
That's where More Than Genes begins...
Clinical facts without context
You can understand the treatment steps and still feel unclear about what the decision means for your life.
Reassurance without honesty
Simple reassurance can miss the complexity of grief, fear and questions that need space.
Time pressure
Treatment timelines, age and exhaustion can make it hard to slow down and think clearly.
Success stories without nuance
Positive stories can offer hope, but they may not answer the questions you are carrying privately.
The More Than Genes Decision Framework
Four parts of one decision
Information
What treatment involves, what choices are available and what you still need to know.
Emotions
Grief, fear, urgency, uncertainty and the feelings that may be influencing your response.
Identity
What genetics, motherhood, resemblance, bonding and family mean to you.
Decision
Your values, your readiness and the next step you believe you can live with.
More Than Genes helps you separate these four parts, work through each one and then bring them back together into a decision that reflects what matters most to you.
This framework will not push you towards donor eggs
There are three valid outcomes.
Yes
For women who are moving closer to donor eggs but need to understand what their yes means.
No
For women who need to understand whether this path is right for them.
Not Yet
For women who need more space before making a decision.
More Than Genes supports all three.
The Questions We'll Work on Together
This decision framework gives structure to the questions that often sit underneath the donor egg decision.
Grief and genetics
What am I grieving?
Not everyone grieves in the same way.
This section helps you understand genetic grief and separate it from fear, uncertainty, guilt or time pressure. When you can identify what you are actually grieving, it becomes easier to understand what the decision is really asking of you.
You'll explore questions such as:
- What am I grieving?
- What does genetics mean to me?
- Can I want a child and still grieve the loss of a genetic connection?
- Does my grief need to disappear before I can make a decision?
Motherhood, identity and bonding
Will I feel like the mother?
This section explores concerns about bonding, physical resemblance, identity and attachment without dismissing them or telling you how you should feel. Together, we'll look at the beliefs shaping these concerns and whether they reflect what you truly believe about becoming a mother.
You'll explore questions such as:
- What do I believe makes someone a mother?
- Why does physical resemblance matter to me?
- Am I worried about bonding, or something deeper?
- What role do my expectations play in these fears?
Fear of regret and decision clarity
What if I make the wrong decision?
Fear of regret can keep you searching for a level of certainty that may never arrive.
This section helps you separate fear, grief, values and readiness, recognise what is within your control and understand the difference between uncertainty and a genuine no.
You’ll explore questions such as:
- What am I most afraid of?
- Is this fear, grief, uncertainty or a genuine no?
- Which choice is most consistent with what matters to me?
- What could help me trust my decision, even if some doubt remains?
The donor, disclosure and the future child
How do I think about the donor and my future child?
Donor conception doesn't end with pregnancy. It becomes part of your child's story and your family's story.
This section helps you think through the donor's place, disclosure, openness and the decisions that will continue after your baby is born. It also encourages you to consider the decision through the perspective of the child you hope to have.
You'll explore questions such as:
- What role do I imagine the donor having in our lives?
- Am I worried I'll compare myself to her?
- What does my child have a right to know?
- How do I want donor conception to become part of our family story?
This framework will not tell you what decision to make.It will help you understand yourself well enough to make a decision you can live with.
A note from Joanne
I’m a donor recipient mum.
When donor eggs were first raised with me, my immediate reaction was no.
Medical information could explain the treatment, but it could not help me understand the grief, fear and questions I had about genetics, motherhood, bonding, the donor and my future child.
What I needed was honest insight from someone who had faced the same questions, together with a clear way to think them through.
I created More Than Genes to provide the structure I did not have: a private way to work through the decision without being rushed, persuaded or left alone with it.
The decision I reached was right for me. This framework is designed to help you understand what is right for you—whether that is yes, no or not yet.
What You Receive Inside More Than Genes
The framework brings together listening and video modules, guided reflection and practical decision-making support so you can work through the decision privately and at your own pace.
✔ 7 core modules
✔ 40+ short video and listening lessons
✔ The More Than Genes Decision Framework
✔ Guided module workbooks
✔ Reflection exercises
✔ Donor selection guide
✔ Questions to ask your clinic guide
✔ Donor-conception law overviews for Australia, the UK and the US
✔ 30 days of written Ask Joanne support
✔ Lifetime course access
This is for you if...
- You are considering donor eggs and feel stuck
- You want clarity without being pushed toward yes
- You feel pressure from time, age, clinics, partners or exhaustion
- You want to make a decision you can live with
- You care about ethics, identity and the future child
- You want support that is grounded, honest and lived-experience informed.
This may not be the right fit if…
- You want someone to tell you what decision to make
- You are looking for medical, legal or counselling advice
- You want support focused only on treatment logistics
More Than Genes is for women who want structured, honest support around the emotional, identity and future-child parts of the decision.
30-day money-back guarantee
Work through the framework and explore the material for yourself. If, within 30 days, you do not feel better equipped to understand what is shaping your decision and what your next step may be, email me and I will refund your payment.
You do not need to reach a final yes or no within 30 days. The guarantee is based on whether the framework has helped you understand the decision more clearly.
Support for the decision only you can make
Move at your own pace
Return to the material when you need.
Use it alongside professional support
Bring your reflections to your partner, clinic, counsellor or support people.
Find your next step
The goal is not to rush your answer. The goal is to understand what is true for you.
Questions you may have
Does buying this mean I am saying yes?
Will this really help me make a decision?
What if I still don’t know at the end?
What if this brings up more feelings than I expected?
Is this therapy?
What if I have questions about my specific situation?
Is this suitable if I am just starting to consider donor eggs?
What is included?
How long will I have access?
What if I don't have time to complete it all at once?
Ready to make sense of the donor egg decision?
Work through the donor egg decision privately and at your own pace, using a framework that will not push you towards yes.
Start More Than Genes.
Immediate access. Lifetime access. 30-day guarantee.