Gamete donation and anonymity: disclosure to children conceived with donor gametes should not be optional

The use of donor gametes in reproductive technology raises ethical, psychological and social questions that have been significant for the practice of adoption: that is, when, or if, to disclose biological origin to the child. The current wisdom is that adopted children should be told by their parents as early as possible that the family was created through adoption, and we argue that the same model should apply to the use of donor gametes. We argue that privacy concerns or other goals of parents who would prefer to avoid disclosure are outweighed by the negative consequences of holding such family secrets and by the child's right to, and medical need for, information about his/her origin. We believe fertility programmes and professional organizations ought to strongly encourage those using donor gametes to tell their child of their true origin as early as the child can understand reproduction in general.