INTRODUCTION

Medically assisted reproduction has helped many people to fulfil their desire to have children. Over seven million fertility treatments, which have led to the birth of 1,308,289 children, took place in Europe between 1997 and 2013. This chapter deals with the question of preserving or abolishing donor anonymity in the field of gamete and embryo donation. To this day, donor anonymity versus openness concerning the genetic origins of a child has been a key issue in the debates on medically assisted reproduction.

First, the impact of gamete or embryo donation on the parent – child relationship will be illustrated. Next, the relevant international legal norms protecting the right of the child to information about his or her genetic origins will be outlined. These norms derive primarily from the United Nations Children's Rights Convention (CRC) and the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

The main part of this chapter provides an analysis of the legislation in Different European jurisdictions. The current situation in Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland and Denmark concerning the right to know one's genetic origins in the context of assisted reproduction is discussed. How is access to information about the donor regulated? And, in particular, how does national law strike a balance between the interests that donor-conceived persons have in accessing information about their donor and the interests that parents and donors have in connection with sharing this information? The jurisdictions mentioned above have been selected because they have various ways of dealing with this question.

The aim of this research is to determine whether these national laws can be considered to be capable of effectively meeting the interests of the child in having information about his or her genetic origins. With regard to this aim, the question is raised to what extent national laws concerning the right of the child to information are in accordance with the international legal norms.

The right of the donor-conceived child to access information about his or her donor remains subject to discussion and to continuous development. This chapter was updated on 10 May 2019, changes or developments after that date are not included.