Donor anonymity may be completely lifted, UK

[tomatoesomtoast]

"The fertility watchdog is considering whether to recommend scrapping anonymity for future sperm and egg donors as part of an expected overhaul of UK fertility laws.
Peter Thompson, the chief executive of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), said the rapid rise of consumer genetic testing websites such as 23andMe could soon make it impossible to guarantee donor anonymity – and that the law needs to be brought into line with this new reality.

exclusive Guardian article today:
www.theguardian.com/society/2022/may/20/uk-fertility-watchdog-could-recommend-scrapping-donor-anonymity-law

Anyone want to discuss? I think it's brilliant (as a parent who ID'd my kids donor - not through DNA though - when they were babies and and has since established a relationship). It's fabulous the HFEA is responding to reality.

Hey there TOT. I’m an egg donor. Hadn’t heard of this potential change, but I went into the process with my eyes open to advances in DNA records and our lives quite generally being played out on the internet/in a public and accessible way.

Was your donor an egg or sperm donor?

A recipient from my donation actually identified me on here (and if you’re watching, I hope everything is going well for you!!).

I donated with an expectation that in 16-18 years time, there may be a young person who would like to add a piece to the puzzle of their genetics. I’m prepared and happy to meet them then. I wouldn’t, personally, welcome contact much earlier than this. My life is full of love, I made my donation with love, and I don’t expect to receive anything back from that. I hope that my recipient and their family spend many happy years being a family and going through all the changes and phases that families go through, till their young adult is ready and at a stage of life when they’re nearly grown and properly prepared to meet their donor (if they want). I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to be interested and curious in who your donor is! Probably very natural. But my contribution to the family was made right at the start and I don’t think I have anything else to give. Lovely to hear that you’ve struck up a relationship with your donor, though. Sounds like it’s working really well☺️

Apart from my own feelings, my partner’s feelings were very important to me. They were initially not at all supportive of what I wanted to do, but came round to it over a long period of time.

If there was no anonymity from Day 1 I am 100% certain I would not have made my donation.

I'm pro the current stance of donor release at 18 as minimum

I think it's unethical to destroy someones medical data without their consent, to the extent that when that person is an adult they can't access . Parents shouldn't be able legally signed away their rights permenantly before they were even born.

I believe it's up to my child and they have a legal right to make that decision as an adult. I don't think I should be able to decide that for them, and that the decision should rest with them as an adult

Practically I think it's important that anyone who donates is prepared for the fact that their ID will be released, at least the 18 criteria means they are aware of that and ameniable . It's a complete falsehood for places to promise donors anonymity in the modern age where DNA tests are given as birthday presents. In current systems abroad I worry that donor concieved adults face the brunt of donors who never considered being found, are suddenly contacted.

It's not as simple as keeping off DNA sites. I know someone who found their father via matching with an aunt on DNA site (not a donor situation). I can't imagine the rejection people might face if they found people who thought they were untraceable. ID release means everyone's aware it's possible

I do however worry about the routes people will use to avoid forcing more open donors.

In donor networks it's incredibly common for people to use completely anonymous donors abroad, especially as ivf is cheaper there, I had to pay much more to have it in this country where ID release is possible. Some of the common countries people recommend only work with anonymous donors due to the countries laws.

Donor Facebook groups are common. This is a real worry for me as there is predatory behaviour, zero traceability and accountability. I know of a couple who used it where their donor had got 10 families pregnant that month alone with natural insemination (basically sex) they had no health checks and they've no idea on numbers of siblings etc

Any drop in donors availability or increase in price will push more people through backdoor methods

Alternatively if people are worried about increased donor presence, then they may choose not to disclose at all. If they know there's more open access and decide not to tell the child then how would people ensure the children are aware? Who would tell them?

I think the priority should be encouraging more use of I'd release at 18, early disclosure etc and reducing the use of abroad clinics where that isn't an option, and moving people away from dodgy face book groups

I understand the fear that complete lack of anonymity will push more people to hide the truth of the conception from their children (there should be research on this already, from the transition from anonymity to ID release in the UK in 2005, but if there is I don't know about it - would be useful to know ). I also understand the fear that donor shortages will push people to use more unsafe methods of conception (Facebook pages).

However, I'm not sure that's a reason for the HFEA not to lift anonymity when the reason for lifting anonymity is that anonymity cannot be guaranteed anyway.

there's no point encouraging more use of ID release at 18 when the point is that ID release at 18 cannot be promised to donors when families can easily trace them well before that.

I'm not sure how the UK can ban people travelling abroad for anonymous donation, only ban people importing anonymous donor gametes (which they already do). But I would certainly agree that its a good idea to encourage people not to go abroad.

The only area we really differ is that I don't think it's for to the child to decide whether or not they know the identity of the donor when they turn 18. We are parents and make all sorts of decisions for them, and I feel that knowing the identity of the donor can fall into the same categerty as knowing cousins or uncles.

It's possible with anonymity lifted a different kind of donor would donate - someone who was attracted by the idea of involvement (but I imagine this would be more the case for sperm donors than for egg donors). I'm not sure how it would work - sounds more like a matching service.

It has just occurred to me that maybe the HFEAs motivation is not ethical (i.e. the best interests of the child). but concern about being liable in some way for breach of contract or .... something... if the clinics promise an anonymity that they cannot deliver (because of DNA testing). Or maybe it really is a case of them feeling it is not ethical to promise anonymity.

It must have been very disconcerting to be identified. I think it threw my kid's donor too. He was expecting it but not until a very long time in the future. He did not have a partner at the time to consider, which I think made a difference.

There's an interesting blog post on the HFEA website on this - very brief but with useful further links www.hfea.gov.uk/about-us/30th-anniversary-expert-series/anonymity-for-donors-until-children-turn-18-can-this-be-maintained/

@tomatoesomtoast
Apologies, Its not that i feel donors shouldnt be released or talked about until 18. I was referring that i feel all adults should be able to access their info at 18 regardless of how their parents feel (like all adults are able to) . When DC are adults they should be able to chose the nature of their relationship etc.

If you have talk about known donors pre 18, have regular contact etc then its up to the adult how they continue with and define their relationship . However if you chose an anonymous donor , youve made that decision for them prior to their conception and even as adults they have no ability to change it. I dont believe as parents we should be able to hold other adults to a contract about themselves that they werent even born or consenting to.

Ive no idea about how to encourage people away from going abroad where anonymity is more common/ possibly even compulsory. I just worry that we will improve standards here, but uk sperm bank use will drop massively and people will go abroad. In that scenario we would actually end up with more anonymous conceived people.

I'm completely with you on the wrongness of anonymous sperm donation (fortunately outlawed here since 2005).. Even if DNA testing means their identity may well be revealed anyway, it's still not fair on the donor conceived people as those donor who choose now to be anonymous, in places like the US where they have the option of being ID release, are probably unwilling to respond to any person reaching out to them. I also think the fact a person is conceived with a donor should somehow be recorded on a birth certificate (I know there are issues around this but it gets around people trying to hide the fact from their children).
I also agree that banning anonymity might push some people overseas. Although eventually DNA testing is likely to be widespread enough that the same issues about being traceable here are likely to affect people in other countries where it is currently less popular.
I'm most interested in knowing how on earth the HFEA proposal would work? Does the HFEA / clinic / sperm banks become a sort of match making service? Like a regulated Facebook donor forum? And I want to understand their motivation. All very curious.
In principle I agree with it though as I think that donor conception as practiced world wide nowadays is largely unethical (and as a parent of doing conceived children I know that makes me a hypocrite).

Yes they should just get on with the lifting if that is possible, never heard about this news story though, is this legit news??, thought it was at 18 that anonymity is lifted???

I have had a look at the website, I never knew HFEA do blogs like this

The government could make it illegal to travel abroad for something that is illegal in this country.

Fir instance, it is illegal in the UK to take a child abroad for FGM. I don't know if there are other examples of this.

I think it should be illegal to go abroad for surrogacy arrangements as well. People shouldn't be able to circumvent British laws like that, which have been put in place for protection.