Donor offspring

A donor offspring, or donor conceived person, is conceived via the donation of sperm (sperm donation) or ova (egg donation), or both, either from two separate donors or from a couple. In the case of embryo donation, the conceiving parents are a couple.

A donor conceived person might never learn their true conception origins, because information about their biological parent(s) is not recorded on the birth certificate. This is compounded by the fact that only a small proportion (av. 10%) of donor conceived people are informed of the nature of their conception by the recipient parent(s). Donor conceived people may have many half siblings as a result of the same person's donations.

The voices of donor conceived people are starting to be heard around the world. Most donor conceived people who are born from anonymous donation wish to have more information about their biological parent/s, so that they are able to complete their personal history. The majority of donor conceived people (those who know about their conception) disagree with anonymous donation of any sort.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 8 states that;

"1. States Parties undertake to respect the right of the child to preserve his or her identity, including nationality, name and family relations as recognized by law without unlawful interference.

2. Where a child is illegally deprived of some or all of the elements of his or her identity, States Parties shall provide appropriate assistance and protection, with a view to re-establishing speedily his or her identity."

Donor conceived people should have the same rights as others to access information about their genetic history.