Sperm and egg donors can no longer be anonymous after a child is born, the fertility regulator said.
People who donated sperm or eggs to help infertile couples have a child could remain completely anonymous for decades.
That was until this year, when the first children born from sperm and egg donations will turn 18 and be given information such as their donor’s name, date of birth and last known address if they want to track that person down.
However, the Human Fertilization and Embryology Authority (HFEA), which regulates the fertility industry, is now suggesting that donors should not be anonymous at any time after their biological child is born.
People who donated sperm or eggs to help infertile couples have a child could remain completely anonymous for decades. That was until this year, when the first children born from sperm and egg donations will turn 18 and be given information such as their donor’s name, date of birth and last known address if they want to track that person down.
The argument is that the biological children of donors and their families can often find them anyway, with the help of DNA testing websites that reveal genetic relatives, and social media groups set up to help people track down donors and ‘donor siblings’ who were born with the help. from the same person.
Julia Chain, Chair of the HFEA, said: ‘Nowhere in this area has the pace of social and technological change been faster than in the growing popularity of direct-to-consumer DNA testing and social media, having a lasting impact on the anonymity of donors. . ‘We have to balance the law with what is happening in reality.
‘We recommend that the law be amended so that parents can find out who a donor is from the birth of a child.
‘Our proposal reflects the fact that the current system, under which identifying information about a donor is disclosed to the conceived person at age 18 and only upon request, can no longer keep up effectively.
‘We know this is an important step, so a gradual approach to achieving this position may be best, but the aim must be to future-proof the law.’
The suggestion is part of a series of recommendations made by the regulator after former health ministers Lord Bethell and Maria Caulfield asked it to look at how the Human Fertility and Embryology Act could be updated.
Since its introduction in 1990, this legislation has only been amended once, in 2008.
This suggests that the Government will carefully consider the new proposals from the HFEA, an independent organization linked to the Department of Health and Social Care.
The regulator also wants the power to fine clinics where necessary, warning that it currently has ‘no enforcement tools’ to tackle unproven ‘add-ons’ offered alongside fertility treatments.
These are often expensive additional procedures offered to infertile couples and women, many of which have little evidence base, which can harm patients financially and in some cases also risk damaging their health.
The sperm donor recommendation is important because the number of single women undergoing fertility treatment has risen from just 490 in 2000 to 4,300 in 2021, alongside a rise in the number of female same-sex couples starting families.
Many women who are older and cannot become pregnant also use eggs donated by a younger woman, and these egg donors would also lose their anonymity under the recommendation.
However, previous sperm and egg donors would remain anonymous under the proposal, and the HFEA says parents should not be legally required to tell their children that they were conceived using a donor, although telling should continue to be encouraged by fertility clinics become.
The regulator does accept that some parents value the 18 years in which their child does not receive information about the donor, and want to use that time to prepare their child for information about them in the future.
So it says that the recommendation can only be adopted after in-depth discussions, and advises all people who are considering using a donor, and also to the donors.