More time is needed to make decision about sperm and egg donor annoymity in Australia

THE state government says it needs another six months to decide whether children of sperm and egg donors promised anonymity before 1988 should be able to know the identity of their biological parents. A recommendation that the government change the law to allow for the information's release was made by Parliament's cross-party law-reform committee in March, which found the rights of children should prevail over concerns about donor privacy. The government was due to respond by the end of last month but yesterday released a statement saying it needed further time to consult donors about the proposed change, which raised ''significant legal and practical challenges''. Noting that the committee's inquiry had heard from only nine donors, the government said it would ask the Victorian Assisted Reproductive Treatment Authority to canvass donor views over the next six months before finalising its response. The deferral was met with dismay by donor-conceived children yesterday, including Melbourne social worker Narelle Grech, 30, who was diagnosed with late-stage bowel cancer last year. She wants to warn eight half-siblings conceived through the same donor to a possible genetic risk of bowel cancer, and to meet her biological family. ''On Monday I got CT-scan results to suggest that my tumours have grown. My prognosis isn't great and I don't know if I have the time the government is taking. It's eating me up … I'm working so hard to get well and overcome this illness, but having this hanging over my head is really not helping.'' A spokeswoman for support group Tangled Webs, Lauren Burns, said the response failed to give ''even in-principle support'' for the committee's recommendations, or to acknowledge the rights and needs of donor-conceived children. Australian Medical Association Victoria president Stephen Parnis said he welcomed the government's decision to conduct further consultation on an important, complex and emotionally charged issue. He said disregarding assurances of anonymity given to donors before 1988 had the potential to seriously undermine the public's trust in the medical profession. The proposed law change would bring the rights of several thousand children born before 1988 - who are not entitled to identifying information - in line with those born following the introduction of laws to regulate assisted reproduction. Currently the law varies depending on when the donation was made. Victorians conceived using sperm donated after 1998 have unconditional access to information about their donors. Those conceived between July 1, 1988, and the end of 1997 can access information if their donor consents. VARTA chief Louise Johnston said the authority would conduct a range of focus groups and individual interviews with donors to ''support the government to make sensitive decisions to meet the needs of all parties involved''. Article: 12th October 2012 www.theage.com.au