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Sperm Donors May Lose Anonymity

Kids' rights, health issues push clinics to look at national registry

By Harry Kimball,  Newser Staff

Posted May 25, 2008 7:36 PM CDT

(Newser) – The halcyon days of anonymous sperm donation may draw to a close, Newsweek reports, as children's rights and health issues prompt the country’s top three sperm banks to consider a national registry for sperm and egg donors. The list may allow recipients to learn about inherited health risks, and give the progeny of manufactured unions a link to their past.

Not all are happy about the initiative, and some clinics wonder if increased transparency will push prospective donors away. While many contributors are “open” donors, and welcome contact with children once they turn 18, some prefer to remain in the shadows. One mother, who conceived with donated sperm, sees it differently. “These kids deserve to know the truth,” she said.

A needle carrying one sperm cell punctures an egg.
A needle carrying one sperm cell punctures an egg.   (KRT Photos)
A microscopic view of an embryo, surrounded by sperm.
A microscopic view of an embryo, surrounded by sperm.   (KRT Photos)
A doctor works on a sample of sperm.
A doctor works on a sample of sperm.   (Getty Images (by Event))
A doctor works the Intra Cytoplasnic Sperm Injection (ICSI) process in India.
A doctor works the Intra Cytoplasnic Sperm Injection (ICSI) process in India.   (AP Photo/Ajit Solanki)
Vials of frozen sperm.
Vials of frozen sperm.   (Getty Images)
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