Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
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Medical ethics
Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
Discuss ethical issues with the Medical Ethics department of the BMA and the Institute of Medical Ethics. Please note, the views posted here do not necessarily represent the views of the BMA or the IME
Interesting article in the Independent: http://ind.pn/HdNjcl It's about sperm and egg donors and it raises various ethical issues about whether donors should be allowed the right to remain anonymous,
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Forums » Open clinical » Medical ethics » Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
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Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
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Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
posted at 2/4/2012 5:04 PM BST
on bmj.com
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*Moderator*
Posts: 1440
First: 7/4/2011 Last: 20/5/2013 |
Interesting article in the Independent: http://ind.pn/HdNjcl It's about sperm and egg donors and it raises various ethical issues about whether donors should be allowed the right to remain anonymous, or not. This is in light of payments for donation going up, threefold in the case of egg donors from £250 to £750. The article says: "Donor anonymity was removed in 2005 and children born from gametes (sperm and eggs) used since that date will have the right to learn the identity of their biological parent when they reach the age of 18.But they can only do so if the parents who brought them up tell them about their origins. A survey conducted prior to the law change found 28 per cent of children conceived from donor sperm and 40 per cent conceived from donor eggs had been told by the age of seven. Today openness is encouraged, but it is not enforced." Should donors have the right to remain anonymous? Or is it important for the children to know the identity of their donor? |
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Re: Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
posted at 2/4/2012 5:32 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1281
First: 9/12/2011 Last: 20/5/2013 |
Yes they should, they are doing a service, and a favor. No one has the right to enforce their identity to become public. In america Hippa law covers this. DuaneF |
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Re: Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
posted at 2/4/2012 11:09 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 29
First: 20/2/2012 Last: 22/12/2012 |
Very tough question. Donor's are helping those more unfortunate than them in conceiving a child. They are compensated for it however and it is not an entriely altruistic act. I'd have expected the number of donors to fall since the introduction of the new law but I don't have the numbers to verify this. If the number of donors has declined as a result of this law change then it is not surprising. These people are providing a service, the opportunity for others to conceive and have children. They are not expecting this child to then contact them and possibly ruin whatever life they have made for themselves (I say possibly ruin, it may very well be a blessing for them instead). But then if you look at it from the child's point of view...they were never given the choice of being born, now that they have surely they have the right to know their biological parents. For some it may be to make a connection for others it may for entirely selfish reasons; knowing about their genes and heritable traits, etc. The point is the child is born without consent and should thus have the right to know where they came from. At least donor's are told that this is the case and given the option to participate in this program or not.
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Re: Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
posted at 3/4/2012 7:11 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2947
First: 10/3/2009 Last: 29/4/2013 |
This law is being reviewed at present in Australia. I believe a promise is a promise and we should not reveal this information. There are many reasons for this. One man who was happily married with children said it could be devastating to his marriage and future. The rights of the donor are paramount. There may be many children to that father; even dozens. The same applies to donor eggs. When I buy a dozen eggs I don't ask the name and address of the hen. All I care is that is was a happy chook. You may find the analogy trite but so what. You can't make omelettes without breaking eggs. And so it is with being alive on this planet for 4 score years and 3.2
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Re: Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
posted at 5/4/2012 12:15 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 12
First: 5/4/2012 Last: 19/12/2012 |
I feel that this decision was the result of a rather fundamentalist - rather than pragmatic - interpretation of "rights". The reasons for identifying the donor are not entirely clear, but seem to relate to providing knowledge of morbidities in the donor that might alter the child's subsequent risks of disease. While it is true that parental morbidities might reflect the risks in subsequent generations, there are many other factors, and there are relatively few conditions where there is a very high correlation relating to serious disease that is unlikely to be detected in other ways. It is also the case that "it is a wise man who knows his father" - that throughout history it is believed that many children have been brought up not knowing who both their parents are, or believing that somebody is their parent when actually they are not. On balance, I think that donors should be allowed to withold their identity. |
Forums » Open clinical » Medical ethics » Should sperm or egg donors be allowed the right to remain anonymous?
