June 16th is Father’s Day in the United States. Thanks to modern medicine and increasingly open discussion around building a family in non-traditional ways, many men choose to use egg donation to fulfill their dreams of fatherhood. Many male celebrities have been open about their desire and journey towards becoming parents, sharing their trials and tribulations of the process with the public eye, thus opening for a broader conversation and acceptance surrounding the use of egg donation and surrogacy.
1. Neil Patrick Harris & David Burtka
“How I Met Your Mother” star Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, became parents to fraternal twins Harper and Gideon in 2010 through a donor egg and surrogacy. The couple knew the surrogate, but the egg donor was found through an egg donor agency allowing them to research her personal and medical history. One child is biologically Harris’ and one is biologically related to Brutka: however, the two dads decided not to learn which child was biologically their own. The decision to go through with egg donation and surrogacy was a well-thought-out decision: 'We really had thought it through financially, emotionally, relationship-wise. We didn’t just accidentally get pregnant. These kids come into our world with nothing but love,' said Harris in an interview two years after the birth of the twins.
2. Elton John & David Furnish
Musical legend Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, considered adoption but ended up choosing surrogacy via egg donation. The pair welcomed their first child in 2010. Their son, Zachary Jakson Levon Furnish-John, was born in Los Angeles by an anonymous surrogate. The couple used an egg donor to complete the pregnancy. Two years later, the pair welcomed their second son, Elijah, using the same surrogate and egg donor. The pair have expressed their desire to be open with their boys about the circumstances of their birth. “We kept a scrapbook for Zachary with all his scans, emails with the surrogate, and key moments from the pregnancy, and we are doing the same for Elijah,” explains Furnish. “We want the boys to understand the spirit and love that was at the heart of the process.” (PEOPLE)
3. Lance Bass & Michael Turchin
The American singer Lance Bass, best known for his time in boyband NSYNC, and his husband Michael Turchin went through a long four-year journey to becoming parents. The pair have been open publicly about their challenges with surrogacy and IVF, experiencing miscarriage with their first surrogate and going through many egg donors to find the right one. However, their story has a happy ending: in October 2021, they welcomed twins Alexander and Violet into the world. Their story serves as a reminder about the importance of perseverance and having a strong support system around you on your journey to parenthood.
4. Tan & Rob France
The star of Queer Eye, Tan France, and his husband, Rob, welcomed their first child in July 2021. The decision to use a surrogate was an easy one, but the choice of an egg donor was more complicated, with the star calling it "quite a laborious process." The pair took their time searching for the right donor that would fulfill their needs. "As far as the donor was concerned, that was a more complicated process, but we really wanted to make sure that the person that we were working with was kind and was going to have the kind of traits that we were looking for in the world [and] that we look for in each other."
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