From October, children conceived in the United Kingdom since April 2005 through assisted reproduction techniques that have used donor eggs or sperm will be able to know the identity of their biological parents.
The changes in the Law regarding sperm and oocyte donors that was approved in 2005 will end the anonymity of gamete donors in that country, given that people who were conceived this way after the modification of that law are now turning 18 years old.
In this way, the United Kingdom joins other countries such as Germany, Holland, Portugal or Sweden in which the identity of gamete donors must be revealed if the conceived child requests it.
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority data shows that by the end of 2024, more than 700 donor-conceived people will be able to request identifying information about their donor, if they wish.
The debate on maintaining anonymity for gamete donors is not new. In the Observatory we have published some related articles in which it is worth highlighting the conflict of interest that is established between the right to anonymity of donors and that of conceived children to know the identity of their parents.
Among the arguments of those who refuse to reveal the identity of the donors, it is worth highlighting the risk that their number could significantly decrease for fear that their biological children will want to contact them in the future against their will. Furthermore, although the regulations exclude this possibility, children could demand some financial or other benefit from their genetic parents, an extreme that seeks to avoid anonymity in the donation.
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