Informing offspring of their conception by gamete or embryo donation: an Ethics Committee opinion
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Committee members:Judith Daar, Jean Benward, Lee Collins, Owen Davis, Joseph Davis, Leslie Francis, Elena Gates, Susan Gitlin, Elizabeth Ginsburg, Sigal Klipstein, Laurence McCullough, Richard Reindollar, Ginny Ryan, Mark Sauer, Sean Tipton, Lynn Westphal, …
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (2018). Informing offspring of their conception by gamete or embryo donation: an Ethics Committee opinion. Fertility and sterility. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.01.001
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. Informing offspring of their conception by gamete or embryo donation: an Ethics Committee opinion. Fertility and sterility. 2018. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.01.001
Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. "Informing offspring of their conception by gamete or embryo donation: an Ethics Committee opinion." Fertility and sterility, 2018.
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RRM Academy Synopsis
ASRM Ethics Committee supports telling donor-conceived children
A 2018 ASRM Ethics Committee opinion backs telling donor-conceived people about their conception. Recipient parents make the final choice. The committee also backs permanent storage of donors' medical and genetic history for offspring who ask.
Study at a glance, Ethics Committee opinion: ASRM Ethics Committee supports telling donor-conceived children. Source: Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, 2018, PMID 29605404.
Key Findings
The committee holds that disclosure to offspring "may serve the offspring's best interests" and, in its summary, supports telling offspring the fact of donor conception.
The committee calls the decision "highly personal" and places the choice with the recipient parents.
Programs and banks "should gather, maintain, and permanently store" donor medical and genetic information, and should write policies for inquiries from offspring.
Releasing a donor's identity is "permissible" when all parties consent, and the committee says providers can no longer promise donors anonymity.
Counseling and informed consent about disclosure are called "essential" for donors and recipients.
Interpretation
This 2018 ASRM Ethics Committee opinion states the committee's own ethical position on telling donor-conceived children about their conception. The committee weighed the arguments on both sides and gave recipient parents the final choice, supported by counseling. The authors note that research has yet to find an ideal age for telling a child. The committee's call for clear disclosure and storage policies points toward larger studies of how disclosure affects donor-conceived people over time.
RRM Context
Restorative reproductive medicine finds and treats the cause of infertility so couples can conceive their own children. Donor conception sits outside that path. The committee's push for a child to know their genetic roots fits that same family-first goal.
Our editorial summary of this paper, not the article's abstract.
Abstract
This document discusses the ethical implications of informing offspring about their conception using gamete or embryo donation. It replaces the 2013 ASRM Ethics Committee document of the same name (Fertil Steril 2013;100:45-9).
Ethics and Policy › Reproductive Ethics › Third Party Reproduction · Clinical Guidelines and Standards › Guidelines by Issuing Body › United States Professional Societies
Judith Daar, Jean Benward, Lee Collins, Owen Davis, Joseph Davis, Leslie Francis, Elena Gates, Susan Gitlin, Elizabeth Ginsburg, Sigal Klipstein, Laurence McCullough, Richard Reindollar, Ginny Ryan, Mark Sauer, Sean Tipton, Lynn Westphal, 0000-0003-0284-2845
J Daar, J Benward, L Collins, O Davis, Joe Davis, Joey Davis, J Davis, L Francis, E Gates, Sue Gitlin, S Gitlin, Liz Ginsburg, Beth Ginsburg, Betsy Ginsburg, E Ginsburg, S Klipstein, Larry McCullough, L McCullough, Rick Reindollar, Dick Reindollar, Rich Reindollar, R Reindollar, G Ryan, M Sauer, S Tipton, L Westphal
PMID 29605404 29605404 DOI 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.01.001 10.1016/j.fertnstert.2018.01.001 Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine et al. 2018, Ethics Committee of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine 2018
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