15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394 or 0774 298 4459
22 August 2003
The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics is very concerned that a boy who discovered that he had the "wrong" father following an IVF mix-up will not be alone since research has shown that many children born through donated sperm or eggs are not being told of their genetic origin by their parents.
Indeed, in a study undertaken by researchers in the Netherlands1 it was indicated that up to 74% of parents using donated sperm or eggs intended not to inform the child about the way in which he or she was conceived. In this report it was also shown that it was often the fathers, more than the mothers, who were secretive with regard to the use of a donor.
The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics (SCHB) is extremely worried about the psychological and emotional problems which children or adults may have if they discovered that their social parents were not their biological parents and that this had been kept secret from them.
Dr. Calum MacKellar, Director of Research of the SCHB, indicated that "the deep feelings of identity which comes from knowing who our 'real' parents are is something which is still difficult to understand though these feelings are very strong" adding that "more research in this field needs to be undertaken and it is very unfortunate that donated sperm and eggs are being used in the UK without these feelings of identity being sufficiently understood".
Note: The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics was formed in 1997 as an independent, non-partisan council composed of physicians, lawyers, psychologists, ethicists and other professionals from disciplines associated with medical ethics. The principles to which the SCHB subscribes are set out in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted and proclaimed by the UN General Assembly by resolution 217A (III) on 10 December 1948.
Contact: Dr. Calum MacKellar, Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, Eric Liddell Centre, 15 Morningside Road, Edinburgh EH10 4DP, Tel: 0131 447 6394, E-mail (provisional): schb@mail.com
1A Brewaeys, S Golombok, N Naaktgeboren, JK de Bruyn and EV van Hall, Donor insemination: Dutch parents' opinions about confidentiality and donor anonymity and the emotional adjustment of their children, Human Reproduction, Vol 12, 1591-1597, Copyright © 1997 by Oxford University Press