My child was donor conceived BEFORE 1 January 2010.
Voluntary InformationCan I register my donor conceived children on the Central Register?
What do I have to do to apply to the Central Register for information that has been provided voluntarily?
What do I have to do to apply for information held on the Register?
What is the process to match with the donor we used?
How can I find out about information that has been placed voluntarily?
How will the Ministry of Health let me know?
FAQs
If you are a parent of a child that is over 18 years of age your child can apply to the NSW Heath Central Register for information on their donor (see I am donor conceived). Before applying for information the NSW Ministry of Health strongly recommends that you discuss this matter with a counsellor.
Voluntary Information
Parents of children who were donor conceived before 1 January, 2010 can apply to the Central Register for non-identifying information about their child’s sperm, egg or embryo donor. Based on parents’ consent, information provided by you will be shared with current ART providers in NSW in an attempt to locate information on the donor.
Should this information be available the NSW Ministry of Health will need to wait on the donor to voluntarily register his/her details on the NSW Health Central Register and consent to have their information given to you, before you are advised or any information can be released.
Can I register my donor conceived children on the Central Register?
No. Only adults over the age of 18 years can apply to place themselves on the Register. The Register is for donors and donor offspring.
What do I have to do to apply to the Central Register for information that has been provided voluntarily?
Before applying for information the NSW Ministry of Health strongly recommends that you discuss this matter with a counsellor.
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 may not be able to be assisted because information is not available or the donor has not, or will not, consent to release.
If seeking access to voluntarily provided information, the relevant ART Provider will need to be able to research records effectively and will require the following information (where known):
- The name of your child
- Date of Birth
- Mother’s name (at time of treatment)
- Father’s name
- Donor code (if known)
- Blood group of the child
Knowing the donor’s donor code and the name of the ART Provider that assisted with the conception of your child, will assist greatly in being able to find information.
What do I have to do to apply for information held on the Register?
To apply for information you will need to apply in writing. You can contact the NSW Ministry of Health on Email: ARTPHCU@doh.health.nsw.gov.au or via telephone (02) 9424 5953 to request that forms be sent to you.
Where a donor is providing voluntary information he/she will be encouraged to provide as much information as possible to help those seeking information. The donor will also be asked to indicate which parts of their information they wish to consent to being made available to parents. For example while they may consent to their ethnicity, physical characteristics, medical history, date and place of birth being released, they may not consent to their name or address being shared.
It is also important to remember that the reliability of information and records held by ART providers cannot be guaranteed. You may wish to consider genetic testing to confirm any biological links.
What is the process to match with the donor we used?
- Once your application has been verified through the required 100 point identification check, the NSW Ministry of Health will send details confidentially to the named ART provider to see whether the donor (or, where requested, other offspring from the donor) can be identified. If you do not know which ART provider assisted with conception, your application will be sent to all registered providers in NSW.
- If an ART provider identifies the donor, initial non identifying information will be provided to the NSW Ministry of Health so that the Ministry can attempt to match records.
- If the donor has voluntarily consented to the release of information and has registered on the NSW Health Central Register the information the donor has consented to release can be provided to you.
- If the donor has not voluntarily placed their details on the Register, the Ministry of Health will hold all requests and if at some stage in the future the donor voluntarily provides their information to the Register and consents to release of information, it can be provided to you.
How can I find out about information that has been placed voluntarily?
For information that has been placed voluntarily by donors, parents are only able to apply for non-identifying information prescribed in the regulations about the donor used. Parents are not able to register themselves or their children on the Register and cannot provide consent to release information about their child.
If the Central Register does not contain voluntary information about the donor you used, you are always free to contact the ART provider directly as they have responsibility to support donors and donor offspring in exchanging information and they may be able to assist you. There will however, be times when the donor wishes to remain anonymous, and in these instances, the Ministry of Health and the ART provider may not be able to help you.
How will the Ministry of Health let me know?
When an authenticated match has been made 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.
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.