Sperm and Egg Donation: A News Roundup

I've come across a number of interesting articles this week, all concerning egg and sperm donation. Here are summaries and links for further reading.

Jewish Perspectives on Donor Anonymity

A commenter to last week's posts on Judaism and reproductive technology asked:

Have you seen any statements about anonymity of gamete donors? or reporting to children (age appropriately) the story of their birth and conception? Does the gamete, especially when donated, have a history or is it purely anonymous?

Because tradition asserts that a child is Jewish if his/her mother is Jewish, whether or not an egg donor is Jewish is of primary concern. Some rabbis have argued that if the biological mother (the woman who gives birth to and raises the baby) is Jewish, the baby will gain its Jewish identity from her, because her contribution to the child's life is more visible and proven than the egg donor's contribution. Whatever the determination of who the child's mother is, however, because the Jewish identity of both egg donor and gestational mother are central concerns, completely anonymous donation (in which the donor's Jewish identity is unknown) raises major concerns.

As far as sperm donation, in general, rabbinic authorities have been more willing to accept artificial insemination using the husband's sperm, rather than anonymous sperm from a donor. Some authorities have argued that the child's father is always the person who provides sperm, and that therefore the infertile father who raises a baby conceived via donor sperm is not actually the child's father.

There is a useful article at the Jewish Virtual Library summarizing the complex considerations involved in gamete donation. Because traditional Judaism places great emphasis on children's identity based on their parents' identity, anonymous gamete donation poses a number of problems for traditional Judaism. The egg's or sperm's "history" does indeed appear to matter. I have not yet come across any uniquely Jewish voices on when and how to tell a child about his/her conception.

Egg and Sperm Donors Recruited Differently


In a Salon interview, Yale sociologist Rene Almaling discusses some fascinating differences between how female egg donors and male sperm donors are recruited, as well as their attitudes toward their donation experience. For example, egg donor recruitment emphasizes altruism (that the donor will be helping to make another woman's dream of parenthood come true) while sperm donor recruitment emphasizes financial compensation. Similarly, egg donors are more likely to talk about their experience as a charitable act of compassion, while sperm donors are more likely to say they did a job for which they were compensated. Almaling also points out the disconnect between language and reality: We talk about gamete "donation," but in truth, gamete donors aren't donating anything. They are selling their sperm and eggs, often for big bucks. In fact, clinics and sperm banks have seen significant increases in people expressing interest in donating their gametes in recent years, when the American economy has been in trouble.

Truth-Telling is Important, But So Are Rules


In a Wall Street Journal op ed, Holly Finn describes how she and a friend, both undergoing IVF with donor sperm, discovered that they had both seriously considered the same donor. Finn was unsettled by the very real possibility that she and her friend might have unknowingly raised half-siblings, who would have likely seen each other regularly because of their mothers' friendship.

Finn goes on to argue that it's high time for our culture to let go of secrecy and taboos around assisted reproduction and gamete donation, implying that honesty would prevent the sort of "accidental consanguinity" that she and her friend nearly accomplished. She says, 

The children of sperm and egg donors are a growing percentage of our population. Many believe that this shifting reproductive scene requires governmental regulation, and it may. But people find ways around the law. This week in the U.K., where the number of children per donor is strictly limited to 10, a man was discovered to have fathered 17 children. What's really needed now is something more effective than an edict: honesty.

I agree with Finn that honesty is important, and that parents' efforts to keep their children's genetic origins a secret can lead to all sorts of serious problems. I once read an account by a genetic counselor working with a couple who used donor sperm to conceive a baby. The couple, however, didn't fully understand the genetics of eye color. They discovered during a conversation with their genetic counselor, several months into the pregnancy, that given the donor's eye color, their baby could possibly have an eye color that would be impossible for him/her to have if the infertile dad was the genetic father. The couple, planning to keep their child's conception via donor sperm a secret, chose to abort the baby, rather than risk someone with knowledge of genetics noticing that their child could not possibly be the father's biological child.


But even though people certainly find ways around the law, I think we need government regulation of the gamete donation industry as well as parental honesty. Otherwise we'll just continue to foster an environment in which reproductive decisions are completely ruled by parental choice. We can encourage parents to make choices that are best for their children, including being honest about their genetic beginnings. But knowing that some parents will make troubling choices, as will some gamete donors (who, given the data I cited above, are clearly motivated in part by money), it's time for tighter regulations to constrain those choices.