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Human Fertilisation and Embrology Authority (HFEA) Register

The HFEA keeps a confidential register of information about donors, patients and treatments. This register was set up on 1st August 1991 and therefore contains information concerning children conceived from licensed treatments from that date onwards.

As from the year 2008, people aged 16+ (if contemplating marriage) or 18, who ask the HFEA, will be told whether or not they were born as a result of licensed assisted conception treatment, and if so, whether they are related to the person they want to marry.

In addition, on the basis of recommendations now made to Government by the HFEA, all children born as the result of any form of fertility treatment as from April 2005 will have the right, on reaching the age of eighteen, to identifying information about the donor. All donors providing samples for use after this date are fully aware of this.

As the law now stands no further information about patients, their children and donors will be given out by the Authority, under any circumstances other than those outlined above. The names of the children are not collected. The current law does not allow people who apply for information from the Register to know the identity of current or past donors*, or of patients and their children. It is a criminal offence to disclose that information and it is expected that any future changes to the law will not affect anonymity provisions related to treatments prior to any change in the law.

The kind of information the HFEA collects relates to a donor's appearance, interests and occupation and the law as it presently stands and the HFEA Act (1990) forbids the names of current and past donors from being disclosed.

*An exception would be if the child were born with a disability as a result of a donor's failure to disclose inherited disease. If they were to sue a clinic for damages, a court might require the HFEA to disclose the donor's identify under the Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liabilities) Act 1976.

National statistics are periodically released by the HFEA and can be obtained from the HFEA website www.hfea.gov.uk