DNA Paternity Testing – The Debate Around Donor Conception

New laws introduced in the UK now mean that donors post 2005, can no longer remain anonymous, but what about the children conceived before?

Solving an Identity Crisis

Infertility has long been a source of pain for many couples looking to start a family. Scientific advances in artificial conception mean that these issues can now be rectified. However, no one foresaw the identity crisis it would cause to the children resulting from donor conception.

In today’s society there are thousands of children suffering an identity crisis. These children, through circumstances out of their control, have previously had no right to know whom their biological parents or siblings are, thus causing much emotional distress and far reaching psychological disorders. New government legislation, changed in April 2005, now means that children conceived through donated sperm, eggs or embryos now have the right to know the identity of their biological parents from the age of 18 onwards. For those children born before the new legislation of 2005, a voluntary contact register has been set up, meaning that with the help of DNA paternity testing, the answers are now available to them.

The Definitive Answer

The only, scientific, definitive way to prove who a child’s biological father is through a DNA Paternity Test. The argument that the rights of a child take precedence over the rights of infertile couples and anonymous donors has resulted in the law changing for donors. No longer will people have to spend years tracking down their biological parents and then hoping they will agree to a DNA test.

Increase in Popularity

Initially, there has been concern that the increased use of paternity tests will cause sperm donors to think twice about the process thereby reducing the availability to infertile couples. This is thought to be especially true of young male students, selling their sperm for financial reasons, who make up 75% of all sperm donations. For many, the thought of being tracked down by offspring years later is proving to be a great deterrent; however, there are also those for whom, as time passes, the curiosity about their offspring means that a DNA paternity test can now work in their favour.

About easyDNA

easyDNA specialize in the provision of reliable, accurate and confidential DNA Paternity Testing, DNA Relationship Testing and DNA Forensic Testing to both the private and public sector. We operate through a network of offices covering a wide geographic area and currently operate 12 offices around the world including Canada, U.S.A, Italy, Belgium, UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Africa. To contact us with further questions please email info@easydna.net

Visit our DNA Paternity Test page for more information about this test.