The French Government has approved a bill to eliminate the anonymity of semen donors, a controversial measure that can reduce donations.
The text, which will be debated by the cameras, provides that children born of donor semen can track the identity of their biological father, something that until now was impossible in France.
The rule would require that all sperm donors authorize the future descendant to know their identity at any time. This point has created controversy, as associations promoting artificial insemination believe that it can deter donors.
Against this measure, the associations for the promotion of artificial insemination and the majority of the legal parents of children born to donor sperm, contrary to revealing the identity of the gamete donor.
The French Government assures that with this measure it tries to take more into account the interests of the children and also intends to hold the donation accountable. But, then, they would only donate those men who in the future were willing to meet a descendant, which I find shocking.
However, experts indicate that the measure has a limited impact, since of the 50,000 children born in France as a result of a semen donation since 1973, only a hundred have been interested in the identity of the donor. But maybe because I knew it was complicated to get the data.
If donating semen is much easier and more frequent than donating eggs, this news could slow down the trend, since most donors point out that they would not do so if it were not for anonymity (60% of them; 70% want it keep anonymity).
These percentages clash with other data defended by those who support the proposal, such as that in the United Kingdom the number of donors grew when in 2005 the anonymity was lifted.
Let's wait to see if it goes ahead or not proposal to eliminate the anonymity of semen donors in France, a measure that, in my opinion, and provided that donor data is reliable and safe, would not be appropriate.
