# Requesting donor info from the HFEA -for those who have donor-conceived children



## some1 (May 13, 2006)

Hello

I thought I would post this information here in case it is useful to anyone ...

I went to the DCN Telling and Talking workshop for parents of donor conceived children in November and they recommended contacting the HFEA for the donor information they have available sooner rather than later. This is because the HFEA is one of the government departments that is being disbanded, and although unlikely, there is no guarantee that the information that is available now will continue to be available in the future.

I wasn't aware until the workshop that I was entitled to have any information from the HFEA, so thought I would post about it in case others are also unaware.

The information they send out is the non-identifying donor information that our children will be able to request themselves when they are 16, they have to wait until they are 18 to get hold of the identifying information. The information could include : 

a physical description of the donor (height, weight, eye and hair colour) 
the year and country of the donor's birth 
the donor's ethnicity 
whether the donor had any children at time of donation, how many and their gender 
the donor's marital status 
the donor's medical history 
a goodwill message from the donor to any potential children 
 There is no cost involved but you do have to send your passport and other proof of identity. Have a look here if you want more info http://www.hfea.gov.uk/118.html

There were no surprises for me, but I am really glad to have the information in writing. I knew almost all of it already (except obviously the information about numbers and genders of siblings) as the nurse at the clinic read the information (basic features of the donor, goodwill message to child and pen portrait of donor) to me over the phone way back in Aug 07 and I madly scribbled notes down - the printed statement makes much more sense than my mad scrawl!

I know not everyone is interested in this kind of information, but thought I would post about it just in case.

Some1
xx


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## Helen3 (Dec 2, 2010)

Hi
This info could potentially be very useful - I would definitely want it in writing if I am lucky enough to have a child from DE, especially for the child's sake if they became interested in their genetic background as they develop their sense of identity.

Thank you


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## Tamsutbadger (Nov 1, 2009)

Thanks so very much very helpful xx


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## Lil Elvis (Dec 31, 2009)

Thank you for the link. Like you I have the information scribbled down after calling the clinic but it would be nice to have it in writing. I wasn't aware that I could find out about other donor-related siblings or the donor's medical history so this will be very good to have.

Lil Elvis


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## some1 (May 13, 2006)

Helen, Tammy, Lil Elvis - so glad that you found the information useful!

Some1

xx


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