Change of course at Donor Data Foundation: Maria is allowed to know who her father is

For the first time, the organization that manages sperm donor data is willing to voluntarily reveal a donor's identity to their children. This is apparent from correspondence between this Foundation Donor Data Artificial Fertilization (SDKB) and 23-year-old Maria, who filed a lawsuit to find out who her donor father is.

Until recently, it was practically impossible for descendants of a certain category of donors, such as Maria, to determine the identity of their donor father. Now the SDKB has determined that Maria will in principle still be told who her father is. Other children of such 'B donors', whose details have been registered, can also receive help from the foundation. The SDKB speaks of a change of course compared to the old policy.

In June, the court in The Hague ruled that five other donor children had the right to know who fathered them, unless their father could demonstrate that protecting his anonymity is more important. Based on that ruling, the SDKB now believes that Maria is also entitled to such a balancing of interests.

B-donor

Maria's mother had herself intentionally inseminated in 1997 with the semen of a B donor known as 'K34'. As a result, her child would be able to contact the biological father from his 16th birthday. Later, however, K34 opted for anonymity, so that Maria could no longer find out who he is. Since 2004, due to a change in the law, only non-anonymous donations may be made.

The SDKB's decision in Maria's case opens the door for children in a similar situation. However, at the moment there is still an obstacle: from a legal point of view the SDKB has no possibility to determine whether a donor was registered as a B donor with a sperm bank. "Clinics are not allowed to just break professional secrecy by sharing the agreement with us," a spokesperson for the SDKB said.

It can also take months before Maria finds out her father's identity. The five donor children who paved the way for Maria with their lawsuit have been waiting for the outcome of the balancing of interests for five months. The SDKB acknowledges that such an application 'can take quite a long time'.

Big step

Nevertheless, Maria's lawyer Mark de Hek speaks of a major step in the right direction. 'Finally, the SDKB recognizes that a known donor cannot just break his promise,' he says. Maria herself is also happy that the interests are now being weighed up. "I trust in a good outcome."

De Hek does expect that 'K34' will, in his view, put forward serious reasons. An independent committee must then advise the board of the SDKB whether those arguments take precedence over Maria's interest in knowing who she descends from.

Experts previously told de Volkskrant that they did not know which interests of a donor could be important enough. De Hek also cannot imagine 'that there is an interest that outweighs the interest of a child who had to break through so many legal walls to get here'.

Maria was able to prove that her father was such a B donor with a court decision in a case she had filed at the beginning of this year . To prevent children from having to file a lawsuit to find out the identity of their father, Minister Hugo de Jonge of Health, Welfare and Sport announced a change in the law this summer in a letter to parliament . "We therefore foresee that the policy will change on this point," according to the SDKB.

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