Database could help NZ children trace sperm donors

By REBECCA WALSH

Children conceived by donor insemination in New Zealand can ask for details about their biological father when they turn 18.

Dr Guy Gudex, the clinical director of Fertility Plus at National Women's Hospital, said about six years ago fertility clinics in New Zealand voluntarily agreed they would only accept donors willing to be identified when their child turned 18.

For years donor details were not kept and children conceived by donor insemination were often unable to locate their donor father. That raised issues about children's sense of identity and more practical concerns, such as medical histories.

Dr Gudex said the clinic might receive one request a year from someone wanting to find out the identity of their donor father. For those conceived before the mid-80s, records were often not kept and searching has been unsuccessful. Donors from the mid-80s and early 90s had not agreed to be identified, although it was possible they could be contacted.

The clinic had not yet received any requests for information under the new system. "We wouldn't be giving phone numbers and names out. It would be a process similar to finding out your birth parents if you were adopted," Dr Gudex said.

"We would check both parties were happy. I guess we would find some way of managing it through counselling if the donor who had agreed to be identifiable had changed their mind."

Dr Richard Fisher, director of Fertility Associates, said donor anonymity was initially seen as meeting the needs of the parents, "but then people realised donors had some interests and children had some paramount interests".

Since 1992 the Auckland-based clinic had accepted donors only if they agreed to be identified. Parents were also encouraged to tell their children from an early age how they were conceived.

International research suggests a third of parents whose children are conceived through donor insemination tell their children.

Carolyn Speed, a counsellor at Fertility Plus, said not telling a child could impact on the child's sense of identity and ongoing relationship with their parents.

"Why not have it out in the open from a very young age. If it's just part of the family history there's no shame. It's just accepted as fact."

Dr Fisher said about 150 children were born a year in New Zealand as a result of donor insemination, but the number was dropping as new technologies meant men previously unable to have children now could. At the same time, an increasing number of single women and lesbian couples were having children through donor insemination.

Legislation, which includes the possibility of a central register to enable people to find out details about their donor father, will be reported back to the House before the end of May.

Under the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Bill, clinics would have to register every pregnancy.

Dr Fisher said although it would make it easier for children to find out information about their parent, it may mean fewer people sought help from clinics as they were reluctant to be part of a register.

Herald feature: Health