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Norway is considering a sperm-donor registry to assist children who were conceived via an anonymous sperm donor, have a chance at learning more about their biological father. But it’s not just about finding out about a biological parent, it’s more about learning of potential health issues and also potentially meeting half siblings. After being told they were conceived using an anonymous donor, there is an obvious and expected shock, and after a period of confusion, questions as well as curiosities begin to take over. Meeting a half sibling could be something very exciting for a child in that situation. But what about the donor? As an anonymous donor, he most likely never intended to have any form of communication with offspring conceived by his sperm. He might have never imagined that his future children that he raised would meet a child that he didn’t even know existed. There are so many different scenarios here and with all the options out there to conceive children, it’s beginning to become a bit tricky, especially when an anonymous sperm donor is involved. More from TheLocal below:
Some 26,000 children have been conceived with the help of a sperm donor in Norway since treatment began in 1984. About 1,000 of the pregnancy were made possible by an anonymous donor.
Lars Ødegård, chairman of Norwegian Biotechnology Advisory Board, told the NRK network that Norway should consider offering assistance to any children who want to find out more about their biological father, or indeed find any half-siblings.
A recent survey showed that only 25 percent of parents who used artificial insemination with the help of a donor had told their child about how they were conceived.
When Maria Kathinca Nilsen Rydeng found out her father was not her biological father, she began looking into whether she had any half-siblings.
“It’s not important for me to find my biological father, but to find siblings would be very exciting,” she told NRK, adding that she was using Facebook to try to locate any brothers or sisters.
“To have a biological bond with each other is special. I always thought I was an only child, and now it turns out I might have a lot of siblings,” she said.
“I wonder if we look like each other.”
