Donor Gametes: Moving to Identification

Thanks to a law signed by Washington State’s governor, the fertility industry there will soon change. Under new regulation anyone who donates gametes to a fertility clinic must provide identifying information and a medical history. Most clinics gather such information, but the big change comes with another part of the law: donor offspring may return to the clinic at age 18 and request this information. The donor can file a veto preventing the clinic from sharing the identifying information, but the offspring will still be entitled to the medical info. No other state in the U.S. has passed similar registration. In most places a clinic may destroy records long before the child turns 18, and kids aren’t entitled to any information about the donors. Overseas, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland, the UK, and some states in Australia all prohibit anonymous sperm donation and have set up systems to help donor offspring find previous donors. In May, British Columbia declared that donor offspring must receive the same treatment under law as do adoptees with respect to accessing information about their genetic parents. As donor kids grow older, they are providing a perspective that remained generally unconsidered in the past—that people need to know their heritage. In the largest study ever of donor offspring (751 in total) 82% of respondents indicate the desire to be in contact someday with their donor. Top reasons for searching were "To see what he looks like,” “To learn more about my ancestry" and "To learn more about myself." The children of donor insemination say, "It makes me angry that I am denied the basic right of knowing who my father was and what ethnicity I am," and “I’m angry and frustrated that I can't get information about my heritage, genetics, looks, and medical history. I feel that half my identity has been stolen by the doctor, and that is unjust."