SHARE
COPY LINK

CHILDREN

Norway ponders sperm-donor registry

Norwegian medical ethics experts think it is time to open a registry to help children conceived with the help of a sperm donor to find their biological father and any half-siblings.

Norway ponders sperm-donor registry
A newborn child. File photo: Jarkko Laine/Flikr

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."

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.