The family law implications of early contact between sperm donors and their donor offspring
Over the past decade, increasing domestic and international attention has been given to the rights of children conceived using donated sperm, eggs or embryos (Law Reform Committee, 2012; Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, 2011; Nuffield Council on Bioethics, 2013) In particular, concerns have been raised about the psychological implications for donor conceived people of being unable to access the identity of their donor(s) (Applehy, Blake, and Freeman, 2012; Blyth, Crawshaw, Frith, and Jones, 2012; Rodino, Burton, and Sanders, 2011) Donor linking the process whereby donor conceived people, donors and/or recipient parents seek access to each other's identifying information has emerged as a key response to these concerns. While Australia lacks a national framework for donor linking, three states (Victoria, NSW and Western Australia) have introduced legislation that prospectively prohibits donor anonymity. The legislation requires that all donors recruited in those states consent to having their identity revealed to their donor offspring when the children reach the age of majority.