Sperm donors (unknown donors through licensed clinics)
If you sign up with a fertility clinic that is licensed by the Human Fertiilsation and Embryology Authority (the HFEA) in the UK to donate your sperm to unknown recipients, you are not treated as the legal father of any child conceived as a result of your donation and you have no responsibility as a parent.
Sperm donors: information rights
Information about you is recorded by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA). Any child conceived with your sperm after 1991 has rights to access, in later life, information about you:
- Your offspring can, once they reach the age of 16, find out non-identifying information about you.
- If you became a donor after 1 April 2005 (or if you choose to re-register as an identifiable donor) any children conceived with your donated sperm or embryos can also ask the HFEA for identifying information about you (including your name and address) once they reach the age of 18. They might use this information to get in touch with you. The HFEA will probably contact you if anyone makes a request for identifying information about you.
As from 1 October 2009, donors have a legal right to request certain limited information about their genetic offspring. You can ask the HFEA whether your donation was successful and, if so, whether any children born were boys or girls and the year of their birth.
Sperm donors: the use and storage of your sperm
The maximum number of families who can conceive with your donated sperm or embryos is ten, although you can specify a lower limit. Each family you donate to can conceive more than one child using your sperm or embryos within this limit.
Your sperm (or embryos created with them) can be used only within the terms of the consent that you give, and you can set whatever conditions you want. You have the legal right to vary or withdraw your consent at any time before your sperm or embryos are placed in the body of another person. However, if you withdraw your consent in respect of an embryo, and the egg provider does not agree, the clinic has a legal obligation to hold the embryos in storage for 12 months before destroying them to give you the opportunity to change your mind. They cannot be used in treatment during this period without your consent.
Your sperm (or embryos created with them) are usually stored for a maximum of ten years. Special extended storage regulations allow sperm or embryos to be stored for much longer, depending on your recipients' medical circumstances, although the rules are complex. Find out more about the extended storage rules.
