As part of our service to Donor conceived people (DCP), donors and recipients of donation, we offer donor conception linking, a programme where we support to connect recipients or DCP with their donors. Our linking program also includes support to connect recipient parents and DCP to link with same donor families.

Contact between recipients, DCP and donors can vary depending on the wishes of those involved, ranging from disclosure of limited information; updates to personal or medical information; to occasional email communication; to forming a deeper relationship between parties.

Donor linking is often a gradual and evolving process. For many individuals and families, thoughts and feelings about contact, information sharing, and relationships can change over time, and the process may unfold over months or years.

Every donor linking journey is unique, and it is important that any contact or communication occurs at a pace that feels respectful and manageable for everyone involved. These connections can involve complex emotional, relational, and identity considerations, and we encourage a thoughtful, sensitive, and supportive approach throughout the process.

Our team aims to handle donor linking enquiries with care, respect, and compassion, while supporting the needs and boundaries of all parties involved.

For parents of donor-conceived children:

• It is common for parents of a donor-conceived child to want to learn more about the person who shares some of their child’s genetics. Parents don't need to wait until their child is 18 years old to seek information about their donor. Some parents and children ask if they can communicate with the donor and would like to initiate contact or communication.

For people who are donor-conceived (DCP):

• There are thousands of people in the world that were conceived with the help of donor sperm, donor eggs, or donor embryos. You may have grown up knowing you were donor-conceived, or you may have recently found out. It is natural for many donor-conceived people to want to know more about their donor and/or other people born from same donor families and, in some cases, want to meet them.

Donor updates:

• Donors can update and request information. You may have been an egg donor, sperm donor or embryo donor with Fertility Associates in the past. You can connect with us to update your contact information or health information. Now is a great time to reconnect and let us know where you are. This helps if you are interested in hearing about the outcome of your donation OR if the DCP or families you have donated to have any questions or requests.

We recognise that people starting a linking process will have different preferences and we want to offer options that meet the variable needs of people engaging in this service. We would like to initiate a positive linking experience that feels safe and well supported.

You may have been an egg donor, sperm donor or embryo donor with Fertility Associates in the past and lost contact with us. Now is a great time to reconnect and let us know where you are. This helps if you are interested in hearing about the outcome of your donation OR if the children or families you have donated to have any questions or requests.

We have a lot of experience helping donors, children and families swap information, which can range from the briefest of details to people meeting.

If you would like to discuss these options further and which is best suited to your linking needs, you can contact our donor linking team on donorlinking@fa.co.nz

Donor updates: Donors can request updates on the outcome of their donation. This includes how many families have accessed their donation. The number of children born, general age and sex (male or female at birth). This is important information to stay up to date with so that donors can support their own family to understand their connection to other families.

Option 1: Requesting identifiable information about your Donor and/or requesting an update on your donor’s donation to other families:

• Recipients who have had a child through donor conception and DCP over the age of 18 can request identifiable information about their donor if this donation occurred following the 22nd of August 2005. Recipients and DCP can also request information about how many other families have accessed their donor’s donation, how many children have been born, the general age of the children and their sex (male or female at birth).

Option 2: Support to connect with your donor:

• Recipients and DCP may want to access support with information exchange between their donor and themselves to help assist in setting up a positive link and initiate communication. This option includes an optional preparatory session with one of our trained fertility counsellors to address your expectations, hopes for linking, and to provide a safe space to consider the implications of your linking plans.

Option 3: Support to link with same donor families:

• Recipients and DCP may wish to access support with information exchange or connecting with same donor families. As donors at Fertility Associates can donate to up to 7 families, this involves our donor linking team connecting with same donor families and assisting to set up correspondence and connection where parties consent to engage. Same family linking often involves numerous families who may be at different ages and stages of life. Our donor linking team aims to support this linking with a gentle, safe and respectful approach. This option includes an optional preparatory session with one of our trained fertility counsellors to address your expectations, wishes and a safe space to consider the implications of your linking plans. 

For people who conceived or were conceived through donation prior to the introduction of the Human Assisted Reproductive Technology (HART) Act 2004, there is no automatic legal right to access identifying information about donors. However, the clinic may still be able to support individuals and families who wish to explore donor linking options and many pre-HART donors are interested in linking and sharing information.

This process generally involves reviewing any historical records available to the clinic and, where possible, attempting to contact the donor to ask whether they would be open to sharing information or making contact. If everyone involved consents, the clinic can help facilitate communication and provide support throughout the process.

As many pre-HART donations occurred at a time when record keeping practices were different, available information can sometimes be limited or incomplete. This may make locating donors or confirming details more challenging, and in some cases, it may not be possible to make contact.

With any linking process we highly recommend utilizing the support of our experienced Fertility counsellors to assist with preparation and support.

We have experience with assisting donors, DCP and families connect and exchange information, which can range from the briefest of details to people meeting in person. Our experienced team understand the complexity of donor conception linking and we are neutral, respectful of people’s choices and opinions, and maintain privacy at all times.

With any donor conception linking, we encourage people to access relevant resources to help in preparing for the process. We have included a link below to some resources with information to assist you.

Additional helpful resources

• Donor conceived Aotearoa
• Donor conception network
• Information about the HART Act
• Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages
• VARTA - https://www.varta.org.au/resources-and-support and https://www.varta.org.au/resources/news-and-blogs/time-tell-children-about-how-they-were-conceived