Tielen wants limit on foreign donor sperm

State Secretary Tielen: “In recent years, donor conception increasingly takes place in an international context, partly due to the shortage of sperm donors in the Netherlands. We see that this can lead to problems, such as the emergence of large kinship networks. That is concerning. Descending from ‘mass donors’ and having sometimes tens to hundreds of half-sisters and half-brothers is experienced by some of these children as a painful burden. There is also a growing call from medical-ethical, legal, and political perspectives to better regulate such practices around donor conception. That is why I propose these measures.”

For the use of donor sperm in Dutch clinics, there is a limit of twelve women per donor. Other countries often have a limit on the number of offspring from one donor within that country. But if sperm is used in multiple countries, the total number of offspring from that donor can increase significantly. Internationally operating sperm banks often supply sperm from one donor to multiple clinics in Europe or even worldwide. Mass donation and the use of foreign donor sperm can have various negative consequences for donor children, such as not being able to establish contact with donors and the psychological pressure of large kinship networks.

To protect the interests of the future (donor) child, the State Secretary is exploring various routes to regulate the use of foreign sperm. The best chance for regulating cross-border use of donor sperm is the Material Control Act (Wzl), which is currently under consideration in the House of Representatives. The proposal is to prohibit both the import and export of donor sperm, except when binding agreements have been made that the donor sperm is used worldwide in no more than a certain number of families.

At the European level, the State Secretary continues to advocate for a maximum number of families per donor. Fueled by recent abuses, European regulation of the scale of cross-border donor conception appears to be gaining more support.

The development of laws and regulations can take a long time and does not solve all problems. Therefore, more can be expected in the short term from self-regulation, agreements between parties, and joint initiatives. Responsibility for responsible donor conception lies not only with the government but also with intended parents, clinics, sperm banks, and treating physicians. Therefore, the ministry will soon meet with all involved parties to improve practices around cross-border donor conception.