Enable families with donor-conceived children to tailor their family story. Recommendations for policy and practice regarding legal age limits for accessing donor information in The Netherlands.

Abstract

In 2020, the Dutch government issued a call to investigate age limits for donor-conceived people to access donor information because there was insufficient justification for such limits in the Dutch law. This question is equally important in a changing landscape of donor conception due to searching using direct-to-consumer genetic tests and social media. This paper describes recommendations for policy and practice based on an interdisciplinary (ethical, legal, psychosocial and empirical) research. Findings show that no age limits can be adequately justified, including the current ones. Consequently, we recommended modification of the law by dropping age limits and by making donor information accessible upon the birth of a donor-conceived person. Moreover, we set forth recommendations for due diligence in providing donor information. Integrating donor information into one's life's story is a gradual process that should be tailored to a child's development and individual needs. Because this process is more than a single moment of accessing donor information, we see parents as being best suited to align accessing donor information with their child's needs. We recommend that donor-conceived people, parents and donors are given support in this process, provided by professionals with experience and knowledge about donor conception.