Ethics and Policy · Policy and Regulation
The Anonymity of Gamete Donation: Should the Current Situation Be Improved?
Original title (Spanish) El anonimato de la donación de gametos. ¿hay que mejorar la situación actual?
RRM Academy Synopsis
Donor-conceived people have a right to know their origins, says author
An ethics analysis argues donor-conceived people have a right to know their origins. The author is an emerita philosophy professor. She draws on personal accounts, court rulings, laws from several countries and a 2019 Council of Europe recommendation. She calls for new laws in Spain and many other countries.
Key Findings
- Spain has kept gamete donation anonymous under laws of 1988, 2003 and 2006, with exceptions only for certain danger to a child's life or health, or criminal procedure.
- Sweden's 1984 law established non-anonymous donation. Norway (2003), the Netherlands (2004), the United Kingdom (2005) and Finland (2006) repealed the anonymity they had first introduced.
- Council of Europe Recommendation 2156 (2019) urges ending anonymity for future donations. Adults conceived from them could learn the donor's identity (age 16 or 18) and, with counseling, decide on contact.
- France's law of 2 August 2021 lets adults conceived with donor gametes request the donor's identity, and requires donors to consent in advance to that disclosure.
- A French association says donations fall substantially once anonymity ends. In some countries that changed, donor numbers later rose considerably.
Interpretation
The paper is a narrative analysis of ethics and law by a philosopher. The author draws on two donor-conceived people who spoke on one Catalan television program, laws, ethics committee reports and published commentary. The paper reports no measured outcomes for donor-conceived people, donors or families. On donor numbers, the paper cites an association report, a 2002 book and other unnamed sources. The author names the objections of assisted reproduction professionals: complex organization, family conflict and fewer donors. She calls these weighty but finds it hard to place them above a fundamental right to know one's origins.
RRM Context
The paper concerns children born from donor gametes (sperm and eggs) in assisted reproduction. Infertility is bypassed with a third person's cells. Restorative reproductive medicine evaluates both partners to find and treat the cause of infertility. Its aim is conception with the couple's own gametes. Questions about donor identity arise only when a third person's gametes are used.
Abstract
The anonymity of gamete donation is the subject of harsh criticism from the people born by assisted reproduction techniques (ART) with donor gametes or embryos, both in Spain and in other countries. The text provides information on this situation and on the various laws in different countries, as well as the ethical orientation of the principles to be respected. Many countries have legislated for years on the non-anonymity of ART donors and the Council of Europe approved a recommendation in 2019 advising to follow this model. Goal. To point out situations that should be avoided, present arguments and actions to overcome them.
Method
Narration of personal situations of legal distress, ethical and jurisprudential analysis of the same, and proposals for action to avoid such situations.
Conclusions
Need for legislative changes in many countries, including Spain, to protect the right to know the origins of those born by gamete donation.
