I was a sperm, egg or embryo donor BEFORE 1 January 2010.
I donated before 1 January 2010 – what do I have to do?Voluntary Information:
Who can access my information?
Can I remove my information from the Register?
What kind of information can I get about offspring from my donated sperm, eggs or embryos?
What do I have to do to register or apply for information?
Voluntary information
What kind of information should I put on the Central Register?
Who can access my information?
What is the process to match with any offspring?
What will happen if offspring are identified?
What if a match is found but they are not on the Register?
How will the Ministry of Health let me know?
What if I do not want to be contacted?
FAQs
Only those donors whose sperm, eggs or embryos were used in the conception of a donor offspring BEFORE 1 January 2010 can apply to place voluntary information on the Central Register.
Before registering or applying for information from the NSW Health Central Register, the NSW Ministry of Health strongly recommends that you discuss this matter with a counsellor.
I donated before 1 January 2010 - what do I have to do?
If you would like to register your personal information for the benefit of any offspring, you can send in your details to the Central Register. If those offspring have also registered with the Central Register, you can apply to have any information about them released to you, provided they have given consent to do so.
Voluntary Information:
If you were a sperm, egg or embryo donor before 1 January 2010, you are encouraged to register your details on the NSW Health Central Register and consent to release of any or all of this information so that any offspring can access it if they register. You can also apply for information on any offspring resulting from your donated sperm, eggs or embryos through the NSW Health Central Register.
Based on your consent, your information will be shared with current ART providers in NSW in an attempt to locate identifying information on your offspring. Should this information be available the NSW Ministry of Health will wait for the donor offspring to voluntarily register his/her details on the NSW Health Central Register and give their consent before you are advised or any information can be released.
Who can access my information?
Information that has been voluntarily provided can only be given to someone else with your express consent. Those born as a result of donated sperm, eggs or embryos after 1 January 2010, can apply to access non identifying information about their donor once they have turned 18 years of age (ie. in 2028).
Can I remove my information from the Register?
Where information was provided voluntarily it can be removed by the registrant by notifying the NSW Ministry of Health in writing.
What kind of information can I get about offspring from my donated sperm, eggs or embryos?
Donor conceived adults who were conceived before 1 January 2010, can place themselves voluntarily on the NSW Health Central Register and can provide any or all of the following:
- full name, residential address
- sex,
- date and place of birth
- any medical history or genetic test of yours (or your family) that is relevant to the future health of the donor or other donor offspring
- physical attributes and characteristics
- any personal information they are happy to provide or are happy to have exchanged
Similar to donors before 1 January 2010, where a donor offspring is providing voluntary information he/she will be encouraged to provide as much as possible, to help any applicant who is seeking information.
The donor offspring will also be asked to indicate what part of the information they wish to share with the donor. For example while they may consent to their date and place of birth being released, they may not want their name or address shared.
It is also important to remember that the reliability of information and records held by the ART provider cannot be guaranteed. You may wish to consider genetic testing to confirm any biological links.
What do I have to do to register or apply for information?
Before registering or applying for information NSW Health strongly recommends that you discuss this matter with a counsellor.
To register or apply, download the forms and send them into the NSW Ministry of Health along with 100 certified points of identification.
Voluntary information
In the last 30 years, attitudes to donor conception have changed. Prior to 1 January 2010, there was no specific legal requirement regarding record keeping for donors and many provided eggs, sperm and embryos anonymously. Because of this there will be some people who we may not be able to assist because information is not available due to incomplete records, or the donor offspring has not provided consent to release.
If seeking information about any donor offspring, the relevant ART Provider will need to be able to research records effectively and will require the following information (where known):
- Name
- Date of Birth
- Donor code if known
- Blood group
- Time of Donation/s
- Address at last donation
- Clinics where donation was made
To register or apply for information you will need to apply in writing by using one of the application forms on this site. You can also contact the NSW Ministry of Health in person or by phone to request that forms be sent to you.
The quality of record keeping prior to legislation may affect the matching process. The more information donors can provide about the number of donations made and the name/s of the clinics sperm, eggs or embryos were provided to, the more able we are to try to match offspring.
Knowing your donor code, and the name/location of your donations will assist in being able to find information. Unless your adult offspring have also come forward to place their details voluntarily onto the Central Register, there may be no further assistance that can be provided.
What kind of information should I put on the Central Register?
A donor who donated before to January 2010 may voluntarily provide any, or all, of the following information;
- Sex, full name, residential address, date and place of birth ethnicity and physical characteristics
- any medical history or genetic test of yours (or your family) that is relevant to the future health of:
- a person undergoing ART treatment involving the use of your donated sperm, eggs or embryo, or
- any offspring born as a result of that treatment, or
- any descendent of any such offspring,
- the name of the ART provider to whom the sperm, eggs or embryo was provided,
- the date on which the sperm, eggs or embryo was provided and the address you had when the sperm, eggs or embryo was provided.
It will be necessary to indicate which parts of this information you wish to consent to being made available. For example, you can consent to your ethnicity, physical characteristics, medical history, date and place of birth, but not your name or address.
Who can access my information?
If you were a sperm, egg or embryo donor before 1 January 2010, you are encouraged to register your details on the NSW Health Central Register and consent to release of any or all of this information so that any offspring can access this if they are registered on the Register.
Information placed voluntarily on the Central Register will only be given out to donor offspring or their parents with your express consent.
It will be necessary to indicate which parts of this information you are consenting to being made available. For example, you can consent to your ethnicity, physical characteristics, medical history, date and place of birth, but not your name or address.
What is the process to match with any offspring?
- Once your application has been verified through the required 100 point identification check, the NSW Ministry of Health will send your details confidentially to the named ART provider to see whether your donor offspring can be identified. If you do not know the ART provider your application will be sent to all registered providers in NSW.
- If an ART provider confirms you as a donor, initial non identifying information will be provided to the NSW Ministry of Health.
- The Ministry of Health will check the Register to confirm whether any offspring from your donated sperm, eggs or embryos have also applied to the Register, seeking information about you or consenting to release of their information to you.
- If the donor offspring has voluntarily consented to the release of information and has registered on the NSW Health Central Register the information the donor offspring has consented to release can be provided to you.
- If the donor offspring has not voluntarily placed their details on the Register, the NSW Ministry of Health will hold all requests and if at some stage in the future the donor offspring voluntarily provides their information to the Register, a match will occur and information can be provided to you.
What will happen if offspring are identified?
If the ART provider identifies relevant offspring based on their records, they will notify the NSW Ministry of Health. These non identifying details will be retained until such time as the relevant donor offspring registers and provides consent to have their information released to you. Due to privacy considerations the NSW Ministry of Health is not able to approach the donor offspring to seek their consent to release information.
Please remember that the reliability of information voluntarily provided and of records kept by the ART provider cannot be guaranteed. You may wish to consider genetic testing to confirm biological links.
What if a match is found but they are not on the Register?
For information provided voluntarily, information can only be released where details have been placed on the Register and consent that allows access to information provided.
If the Register does not contain information, you are always free to contact your ART provider (where known) directly. ART providers have a responsibility to make every endeavour to assist in your request for information. It may be that some records are not available or incomplete and in these instances, the NSW Ministry of Health may not be able to assist.
There will also be times when the donor offspring wishes to remain anonymous. In these instances, no information will be able to be provided.
How will the Ministry of Health let me know?
When an authenticated match has been made between donor and offspring/other offspring, the Ministry of Health will notify you via Registered Post that a match has been made. To ensure you are able to receive the result in a supported way, you will also receive information about how to access counselling and the relevant ART Provider.
What if I do not want to be contacted?
If you only want to voluntarily place non identifying information about yourself on the Register, and are not seeking information about any other party, that is fine. You can still place some information about yourself such as your medical history, and there is no obligation to do anything further. Only information you consent to be released will be released. The Ministry of Health will only contact you if you consent to being contacted.
FAQs
A list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) provide further detail about Voluntary information on the Central Register and the process that the NSW Ministry of Health and NSW ART Providers undertake in order to facilitate the exchange of information.