Call to end sperm donor anonymity

Children conceived with donor sperm may be able to trace their biological fathers, if a change in the law proposed by leading fertility expert Baroness Warnock comes about.

There are some fears that the prospect of meeting children in future years could deter men from becoming donors, but the peer told BBC News Online she did not believe that to be the case.

At the moment, when children reach the age of eighteen, they can find out information such as the height, hair colour and race of their father.

What information they have access to is currently being reviewed by the Department of Health.

Baroness Warnock's position is a reversal of that taken in the 1984 inquiry she chaired which led to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 which enshrined anonymity for donors.

She is now saying it is important that children conceived in this way have access to information about their biological father, including genetic details which could be crucial to their health.

She said that in 1984, the common belief was that parents did not tell their children if they were conceived using donor sperm.

"They were brought up under a cloud of deceit. Sometimes they were enlightened about their origin in a rather brutal way."

"But if there's an obligation to allow the children to find out about their genetic father, then there's no question of deceit."

Baroness Warnock now believes that children conceived through the use of donated sperm have a right to know the same information as those conceived naturally.

"It's absolutely deplorable for a child not to know what other children know."

Consultation

One survey has suggested donations would more than halve if anonymity was removed, but Baroness Warnock said experience in Scandinavian countries had proved that men were not deterred from donating sperm.

"There might be a slight dip in the beginning, but it hasn't been any different in Scandinavian countries."

However, she said any legislation should not be retrospective.

"It's absolutely deplorable for a child not to know what other children know"

Baroness Warnock

Baroness Warnock will set out her views at a conference in London on Thursday organised by Progar, a coalition of fertility and social work organisations.

Baroness Warnock believes men would not be deterred from donating sperm

She said: "I am speaking out now because I wanted to make sure that nobody used our 1984 report which is almost 20 years old as an argument."