Should the anonymity of sperm donation be lifted?

Should sperm donation remain anonymous?

More and more adults born from an anonymous sperm donation are seeking access to their origins in court. What do you think of this business?

Pierre Jouannet: The debate aroundanonymity of sperm donation is not new. But in recent years it has taken on another dimension with the evolution of society, family patterns, and thechildren born of assisted procreation reach adulthood. Same-sex couples have the right to become parents by adoption, and this could still change with the revision of bioethics laws, concerning assisted reproduction for female couples, which will make a difference. What is certain is that it is not for the doctor to decide whether or not the sperm donation should remain anonymous. It is a choice of society, a fundamental ethical choice. However, such a decision cannot be taken without thinking about the issues and the consequences. Today, the debate remains too much in the register of emotional and compassionate.

Do you understand that people born from sperm donation wish to know the identity of their biological father?

PJ: It’s legitimate to want at some point to know the identity of your father. As a doctor, having met many young adults conceived by sperm donation and who wanted the waiver of anonymity, I can tell you that this request is often linked to personal difficulties. It can be about relationship problems with the father but also about the way in which these young people learned how they were conceived. For example, when the revelations are made during conflicts or acute emotional shocks or when they are too late. Sometimes the parents cannot manage the information on the mode of conception well, because they themselves find it difficult to cope with this situation. This is what the medical teams must work on. May these children know their story, in all transparency, that there are no taboos, that they know that they were conceived with a sperm donation and understand why. In cases where things are going well with their parents, these adults are unlikely to find another father. Moreover, the very word “father” used in connection with the donor maintains the confusion.

What could be the consequences of lifting anonymity?

PJ: Probably a decrease in the number of donations, but above all it could dissuade future parents from using sperm donation. This is what happened in Sweden, Where the sperm donation is no longer anonymous – it is the first country in Europe to have lifted the anonymity of gamete donation twenty-five years ago. Many Swedish couples have given up on becoming parents or turned to anonymous sperm banks in other countries. Today, following information campaigns, we have found donors. What is striking in Sweden, is that’no child has wanted to have access to the identity of the donor since the law allows it. How to explain this phenomenon ? Some studies say that the proportion of Swedish couples who inform children about their conception is low. This is one of the arguments of the opponents of the lifting of anonymity. If the donation is no longer anonymous, it could encourage secrecy. While anonymity would promote information for children.

In France, what is the point of view of the actors concerned?

PJ: In France, we unfortunately do not have a follow-up study. According to the work of CECOS, today the majority of future parents who have had a child after a sperm donation, consider informing them of its mode of conception, but most would like to maintain thedonor anonymity. Studies in other countries of people requesting access to the identity of donors have to face the facts. They’re not just looking for the missing piece of the puzzle. Somewhere, they expect more than that, they want to make a connection. The problem : what is the nature of the bond that can be built between the donor and the child? Who will he involve beyond the donor?

In the United States, websites allow all people who have been conceived with the sperm of the same donor to meet. What is sought is not only a link with the donor but also with “demi -brothers ”and“ half-sisters ”

Finally, if the child needs to know his parent to build his identity, why should he wait until he comes of age? Why should the anonymity not be lifted sooner? From birth ? It would then be a whole new kinship system that would have to be rethought and built.

* Center for the Study and Conservation of Human Eggs and Sperm

Giving and after… Procreation by sperm donation with or without anonymity, Pierre Jouannet and Roger Mieusset, Ed. Springer