Radoy Krastev
Medical University – Sofia
Abstract: A study of the public opinion in Bulgaria in regard to the possibility of the adult children, created by gamete donation, to learn who are their biological parents was made. This investigation was an on-line survey. The participants in the study are individuals between 18 and 65 years of age – Internet users. The survey was included into different web sites and this enlarged the number of respondents (up to 994) and 85% of them are persons in fertile age – from 18 to 43 years. The answers of the respondents in relation of the demographic features - gender, age, education, family status and place of living are studied. The data are calculated with the special statistical product SPSS 16. A critical level of significance 0.05 is used. Results: Almost half (47%) of the respondents agree that the children born from gamete donors have the right to know at adulthood their biological parents, 35% disagree and 18% have no opinion. The demographic features influencing the answers of the question are the gender, the education and the family status of the respondents (p<0.05). Most of the men (60%) consider that the children have the right to know their biological parents while only 44% of the women approve. The highest support of the idea about contact between the donors and their genetic off springs show the people with secondary education (56%) and the most skeptical are the respondents with high non-medical education (40%). The family status influences the opinion of the respondents – the approval of the married and unmarried is 38% and 60% respectively.
Key words: Anonymity, gamete donation, assisted reproduction
There is no ideal solution of gamete donation from an ethical point of view. There are three groups of participants in this process and their rights can be affected. These are the autonomy and the right of private life of the parents, of the donors and also the right of the child to know its genetic origin (1). These rights very often can not be satisfied simultaneously.
During the discussion in England (2) before the abolition of anonymity in 2005 the opponents of the abolition –removal- underline that this will lead to the decrease in the number of donors and will create discomfort about the couples who must reveal in front of all their infertility.
According to BBC survey (3) 53% of all sperm donors in Great Britain are against the changes of the legislation from anonymity to non-anonymity and declare that they will stop to donate. This really happens because after the change in the law in 2005 in the next few years the number of the registered donors decreased from 43% to 19% (4).
A law allowing the children after 16 years of age to learn the identity of the donor was passed in Holland in 2004 (5). During the 15 year lasting discussion about the removal of anonymity the number of donors and sperm banks decreased with 60% and 50% respectively.
Some people consider that it is useless to abolish the anonymity because many parents of children created by gamete donation are not inclined to tell them the truth. For example a survey among parents of children / 4-8 years old/ born by donation before the abolition of anonymity in England was made. The data showed that 42% of the parents do not want to reveal the secret of conception of the children, 17% have doubts and only 13% have done this before the 8th year of the child (6).
