Since August 2005, the Human Assisted Reproductive
Technologies – or HART – register has been collecting
information on donor-conceived people, their parents, and
donors with a cumulative 3,337 births of donor-conceived
people now registered.
As of January 2023, there are
3557 recorded donors across the motu, with 1454 egg donors
and 2073 sperm donors.
Established by the Human
Assisted Reproductive Technologies Act 2004, the purpose of
the register is to ensure donor-conceived people can find
out about their genetic history and for donors of sperm,
eggs, or embryos to know about their genetic
offspring.
The register is held by the
Registrar-General of Births, Deaths and Marriages at Te Tari
Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs. Since 2005,
fertility clinics have been required to register information
after a child is born following the donation of sperm, eggs
or embryos at a New Zealand clinic. Information is recorded
about the child, their parents and the sperm or egg
donor.
The register also includes voluntary
registration of information by donors and people born from
donations made at a clinic before 22 August 2005
Jeff
Montgomery, Register-General of Births, Deaths and
Marriages, says that “by publishing these statistics, we
hope to raise the profile of the register and increase
awareness among people who were donor-conceived or who have
donated at a New Zealand clinic that they can register and
access information.”
“Managing this register
is one of the ways the Department helps people access the
information they need and build a sense of belonging in our
communities.”
Donor-conceived people can access
information from the Fertility Clinic or the
Registrar-General when they turn 18 or apply to the Family
Court to approve access to their information from the time
they turn 16. Before then, their parents or guardians can
access the information on their behalf.
The first 28
donor-conceived people to benefit from mandatory
registration turned 16 last year, with growing numbers
expected to seek information in coming years, reflecting an
increase in donor-conception over the years.
“We
look forward to continuing our work with Donor Conceived
Aotearoa and fertility service providers over the coming
months to prepare for an expected increase in interest from
donor-conceived young people,” says Jeff
Montgomery.
It’s not too late to add information to
the voluntary register. Sperm or egg donors
who donated at a New Zealand clinic before 22 August 2005,
and people born from clinic donations made before then can
register their own information voluntarily, either at the
clinic (if they know it) or by contacting BDM on 0800 22 52
52 or bdm.nz@dia.govt.nz.
The
HART register develops a sense of inclusion across Aotearoa
by helping people build their personal history through
access to information.
Note – only children who
are conceived via fertility clinics benefit from
registration. Children born of informal donations made
outside a clinic are not currently able to have their
information
registered.
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