New York Times Examines Anonymity Policies Of Fertility Clinics

Main Category: Fertility
Article Date: 22 Jan 2006 - 0:00 PDT

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The New York Times on Friday examined policies regarding the disclosure of sperm and egg donor information at fertility clinics and sperm banks, which "have long operated under the assumption that preserving anonymity is best for all parties." FDA requires clinics to test donors for transmissible diseases, including HIV and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, but allows the industry to "set its own rules regarding just about everything else," according to the Times. Although some fertility experts say that clinics do not disclose personal donor information to protect customers and donors from "the murky issues of custody and liability," the "secrecy of the process is coming under attack" because some critics say it allows clinics to "escape accountability," the Times reports. In addition, some children born from donated sperm and eggs "are haunted by questions of identity," and there are increasing requests from a "growing customer base of lesbian couples and single women" to disclose donor information, the Times reports. The United Kingdom in April 2005 enacted a law requiring clinics to register donor names and other information in a record that people born from donated genetic material can access when they reach age 18, and some sperm banks in the U.S. have begun to charge more to clients to use the eggs or sperm of donors who will allow similar disclosure. However, there has been a "steep decline" in the number of donors in the U.K. since the regulations were enacted, which has resulted in increased opposition by clinics to similar regulations in the U.S., the Times reports (Harmon, New York Times, 1/20).

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