BRITAIN: Britain said yesterday it would end anonymity for sperm- and egg-donors from next year, in an move that a fertility expert said could worsen the country's critical shortage of donations.
Children conceived from donated eggs or sperm will have the right to track down their biological parents from the age of 18, public health minister Ms Melanie Johnson told a news conference.
"I firmly believe donor-conceived people have a right to information about their genetic origins that is currently denied them, including the identity of their donor," she said.
"Today's new regulations will ... remove the major discrepancy ... between the rights of donor-conceived people and those of adopted people," she added.
But Prof Ian Craft, director of the London Fertility Centre, said the move could have profound implications both on the supply of sperm and eggs and on donors themselves.
"Our evidence is that there is going to be a significant reduction in sperm and egg donation and provision," he said. "There is already an unbelievable shortage of donors."
Ms Johnson said donors would have no financial or legal responsibility for any children so conceived.