anonymous egg donationQ: I want to use an anonymous egg donor for our upcoming egg donation, but want the ability to get updated medical information and the ability for my child to contact her when she/he is older. Is this possible when you do anonymous egg donation? How do I make sure it can happen?

A: Catherine Tucker, a reproductive law attorney at Tucker Legal, says the following: “While it may sound counter-intuitive, anonymity and future contact both can be a part of your egg donation arrangement. The important thing is to select a program that is willing to facilitate the contact. While most programs in the U.S., and this includes agencies, IVF clinics and egg banks, are willing to facilitate future contact for medical reasons, policies differ greatly on future contact for social reasons. In general, the most flexibility is available with agencies and the least flexibility with egg banks. However, it’s important to ask the program you are thinking of working with for information as to their specific policies. If the program is agreeable to such future contact, the next step is to see if your potential donor is open to future contact—most donors are agreeable to contact for medical reasons, but not all donors will agree to social contact. Once you have located a donor who meets your needs, you will want to make sure that you have a plan in place for locating your donor many years down the road, when your child is older. One of the many benefits of having a written agreement with your donor is that you can set out your mutual expectations about both anonymity and future contact, as well as lay out a plan for reaching your donor in the future should she relocate, as young women are prone to do.”

More information on egg donation can be found on the Creating a Family show Legal Issues You MUST Consider with Egg/Sperm Donation & Surrogacy.

 

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