In the world of IVF and fertility treatments, Donors are the “unsung heroes” for countless families going through the journey towards parenthood. (See a great recent post by my colleague, Richard Vaughn of IFLG, on the subject: EGG DONORS, SPERM DONORS ARE UNSUNG HEROES OF ASSISTED REPRODUCTION). Donors who provide their genetic material (eggs/sperm/embryos) for others to use open the doors to medical possibilities that used to be closed to so many for so long. In the United States, every person has a Constitutional right to procreate (See Skinner v. Oklahoma, 1942), but not everyone can realize that right to have children on their own, whether as a result of medical issues, sexual orientation, parenting preferences, or some other factors. Donors help make the abstract Constitutional right a real concrete possibility for every person desiring to become a parent.
Types of Donation Contracts
Donation contracts typically come in one of three flavors: unknown (also called “anonymous”), semi-open or semi-known, and fully-known or open. Each type shares a number of contractual provisions that are common to all gamete donation contracts in general, but they very drastically on how communications are shared between the parties, what identifying information is known, and when.
Given the prominence of anonymous contracts in the marketplace today, we will primarily focus on those in this post. We will look at why anonymous contracts are not really anonymous, distinguish them from each of the other two contract types briefly, and then end with why we think all donors should prefer fully-known or open contracts for their donation arrangements.
Unknown of Anonymous Contracts
In the early days of gamete donation, which usually meant sperm donation, we saw widespread use of anonymous donation arrangements. Sperm banks popped up all over the place where young men could donate sperm samples for other individuals or couples to use in the future. These young men (they always seem to be portrayed as young and attractive medical students or graduate students) received some compensation for their “gift” and were promised anonymity in the future. Sperm banks often times used standard anonymous contracts for their donors to sign and then created profiles of their donors with some pertinent information about their health history and maybe some photos and personal attributes that people could use to evaluate their donor selection in the future. Central to these arrangements was the fact that the donors their real names and contact information was not provided. This “way of doing things” carried on for a number of years and eventually became the norm for egg donation as well.
Today, egg banks and egg donation agencies provide similar opportunities for women who want to donate their eggs. Aspiring Egg Donors can, and often are encouraged to, donate anonymously to a bank, an agency, or directly to matched unknown Intended Parents. They get to feel good about their donation and still keep their personal identifying information “hidden” from the recipients. That is why these arrangements are unknown. You often hear these contracts referred to as anonymous contracts, but there really is no such thing as anonymous contracts anymore. Here is why.
Your information is always known to someone: whether that is the egg bank, the egg donation agency, or the clinic. So, even if you don’t know the identity of your recipients, and they don’t know your identity, somebody involved in the donation arrangement does. Your contract, if unknown, will typically put some obligation on you to constantly update your contact information with that entity (bank, agency, clinic) for a long period of time, something like 19 years. That means that for the promise of your anonymity, you have to keep updating someone about changes to your name, address, email or phone number. You might ask, why do I have to keep my contact information up to date? I thought the whole point of an anonymous contract was NOT to be contacted. Well, not so fast.
Almost all donation arrangements require Donors to notify and update the facilitator (bank, agency, clinic) if your health information changes, or if you learn of a new health condition that could be passed on to your biological children. Additionally, recipients notify the facilitator if a child born from your donation develops a medical condition that has a genetic component. If that occurs, then your contract likely allows the recipients to try and contact you, using the bank/agency/clinic (whoever has your updated contact information), in order to get relevant information from you about your medical history that might help diagnose or cure the child’s condition. In essence, you are never guaranteed complete anonymity. Someone is always meant to be able to find you, if needed.
Lastly, donation contracts are between a Donor and the Recipient Parents. The future child(ren) is not signing the contract and is not bound by it. You may be unknown to your recipients, and they may promise not to try and discover your identity or contact you, but a future genetic child is not restrained in the same way. Modern technology and genealogical networking sites like 23andMe have radically altered our notions of genetic anonymity. With that medical technology combined with unrestricted access to current social media platforms, it doesn’t take long for genetic offspring to find their half-siblings, aunts/uncles, cousins, or genetic donors. It is very likely that in the future, a child born from your “anonymous” donation, will reach out to you or attempt to connect with you. This is just the reality of the interconnected world we live in today.
So, please be mindful (and aware) of the fact that your anonymous donation contract today will not necessarily be anonymous in the future. If that is not something that you are sure you can handle, then you might want to reconsider being a Egg Donor. The technology available to find and connect with genetic connections will only get better in the future.
Semi-Open / Semi-Known Contracts
These types of contracts are a hybrid between unknown and known. Usually, the Donor and Recipient Parents will have access to some identifying information about each other when they sign their contracts. This might be a first name and the city/state you live in. There is some variety as to what might trigger information sharing between the parties, but the contracts assume both sides are at least open to the idea of sharing information with each other at some point in the future.
Some contracts allow for full identities and contact information to be shared if there is a live birth resulting from the donation. Others will automatically allow donor information to be shared with the resulting child at 18 years of age, or earlier if the child’s parents agree. Since not all contracts will have the same information sharing triggers, the Donor is still typically required to update their full contact information with the bank/agency/clinic for up to 19 years from the donation.
These contracts can be appealing to donors who don’t want to commit to a known arrangement just yet, but are open to future contact if their donation results in a child being born. They also can attract recipients who at this stage aren’t sure about open contact in the future, but at least are willing to entertain the idea. Regardless of the level of contact that develops between you and the recipients, the goal of these types of contracts is to make it easier for a future child to find you when they are older (often when they reach 18) so they can learn about their genetic origins and medical history.
Open / Known Contracts
These are my favorite types of contracts (and they should be yours, too) for a number of reasons. Soon, we will do an entire separate post just on open contracts and why we believe they benefit everyone involved. But for now, we will just discuss how these contracts differ from the two discussed above.
Open / Known contracts are just that, they are known. The Donor and Recipients know each other’s full names, where they are from, and usually have their current contact information (at least email and phone number). This is in addition to the personal/medical information shared in their matching profiles. In open arrangements, both parties have the option to stay in touch with one another in the future, but they are not obligated to. They don’t have to go through a facilitator to communicate.
Another positive aspect of open arrangements is that from the outset, all parties involved are acknowledging their respective roles in this amazing process to bring about a human life. Recipients who are willing to have an open contract are also much more likely to remain in touch with their Donor and be open to telling their Donor Conceived Child about using a Donor. Donors in open arrangements understand and accept that their important role does not necessarily end with the egg retrieval procedure. When the desire for secrecy is dispatched, it leaves room for the benefits of transparency to be realized. We still see normal provisions about updating each other if there are changes to contact information, health history, or a resulting live birth. But, this information is shared directly, and doesn’t require a bank/agency/clinic to track people down or maintain up to date information in their files for how to get a hold of everyone. The Donor-Recipient relationship can grow and adjust over time as the child born from the donation also grows and changes.
Ultimately, an open contract is better for the Donor Conceived Child, for the Recipient Parents and for you, the Donor. Next week we will dive into that subject a little deeper and share why open contracts promote the best interests of everyone involved.
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